Cocaine trafficking trial told of NCA investigation

French authorities refused to hand over software used to bring down Encrochat, raising questions over “reliability” of evidence, the trial of an alleged gang accused of smuggling cocaine into the UK from Ecuador has heard.

James Stevenson, 59, is accused of 14 charges, including money-laundering, which span from January until September 2020, and relate to consignments of bananas shipped from Ecuador to the Port of Dover in Kent in 2020.

Co-accused David Bilsland, 67, Garry McIntyre, 43, Gerard Carbin, 44, Paul Bowes, 53, and Ryan McPhee, 34, face fewer charges, including being involved in the production and supply of Class C drugs, and being concerned in the importation of cocaine.

All the accused deny the charges, with Stevenson lodging a special defence of incrimination, at a trial at the High Court in Glasgow .

National Crime Agency (NCA) investigating officer Michael Miller gave evidence regarding his part in examining the drug at a Home Office location in the South of England, between September 28 and 30 2021.

Mr Miller said he had worked in law enforcement for around 32 years, and worked closely with Police Scotland in Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire.

He said cocaine could have a maximum purity of 89%, and would usually be around 11% if it was “street cocaine”, referring to a higher purity level as “glitzy”.

Former detective Mr Miller was assigned to the case to see if boxes seized at the Port of Dover in September 2020 all contained the same packaging.

Over three days in September 2021, he and several police officers examined the Class A drug, which was packaged in brown cardboard boxes illustrated with a Calypso logo and addressed to Glasgow Fruit Market.

A bag of cocaine was shown to the jury, along with images of the hoard.

There had been a seizure of cocaine in 119 packages but we had only seen one

Giving evidence, Mr Miller said: “There had been a seizure of cocaine in 119 packages but we had only seen one. We wanted to open every single package to see if there was any size difference, if there was any difference in packaging.”

A joint minute was read to the court regarding Encrochat – an encrypted messaging service compared to WhatsApp – including usernames ShaggyGoat, TrendyMutant, and SilverJaguar.

Another NCA officer, Wayne Johns, created a Powerpoint presentation explaining how the messaging service worked – using “dummy” Android phones, which could be used to message other users on the same network, for around £1,200 for a six-month contract.

Mr Johns told the court he had no knowledge of it ever being used for legitimate business.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice said: “In April 2020, French authorities placed an implant on Encrochat allowing French authorities to access the data.”

The court heard that the NCA launched an investigation into Encrochat in 2017, but the network had not been accessed by law enforcement before April 2020.

Prior to the French investigation, the NCA was informed and given time to prepare for processing information, the court was told.

Defending Stevenson, Tommy Ross KC said English courts “were exploring the reliability of the data”.

Mr Johns said: “If it’s a foreign state’s equity we would not ask for it; it’s protected by French national secrecy.”

During cross-examination, Mr Ross said: “The courts in England were exploring the reliability of the data.”

Mr Johns said: “Yes, I believe so.”

Mr Ross said: “In short, the French refused to share that info.”

Mr Johns said: “That’s correct. It’s protected by national secrecy.”

The trial, in front of Judge Lord Ericht, continues.