Guns and drug dealer locked up for 18 years

ENCRYPTED MESSAGES WERE CRACKED BY SPECIALISTS

- STAFF REPORTER

A BIRMINGHAM gun and drug dealer has been jailed for more than 18 years thanks to an international operation which smashed the notorious Encro-Chat messaging service used by organised criminals.

Asrar Rafiq used the network to brag about being in possession of hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash, obtained through illicit drug deals, and shared a list of weapons including AK47s and Uzis which he told associates he would be able to secure for them.

Rafiq, aged 35, was one of 12 people given a gang injunction in 2014 after being described as a leading member of a Bordesley Green gang.

But his criminality continued, and a major investigation by the Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands (ROCUWM) established that he used 13 different phone numbers in an effort to evade detection. CCTV caught him using his phones while working out a local gym.

But he was caught thanks to the takedown of EncroChat - a bespoke encrypted global communication service used exclusively by criminals.