An Ashton drug dealer has been jailed after police found he collected and supplied nearly 150kg of cocaine.

Matthew Clarke, 43, of Mansfield Road, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and money laundering.

He has now been sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to nine years for his role in an organised crime group.

Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest stories sent straight to your inbox.

As part of the police investigation, officers were able to access messages sent through the "EncroChat" network.

The network was thought to be encrypted and secure, though police across Europe infiltrated the network by placing malware on French servers used by the service, meaning they could access and read messages.

The UK’s response to disrupt the encrypted communication system used by organised criminal networks is known as Operation Venetic and is led by the NCA.

It is the UK’s largest operation to fight organised crime.

Content on the encrypted phone revealed messages from Clarke, who was using the alias "gingerspeaker", messaging other gang members across the region, swapping images of drugs, referencing the exchange of large quantities of cash, and how to avoid the police while carrying the drugs.

The encrypted messages detailed his every move, leading detectives straight to his door.

The court heard how Clarke played a significant role in the Ashton-based gang.

Using his encrypted phone, Clarke was directed by individuals higher up the chain to travel across the North distributing 147kg of cocaine and being involved with the movement of £100,000 in cash.

He was paid a wage for all of this, the probe found.

During March and May 2020, the amount of drugs police encountered during Clarke’s investigation have an estimated street value of more than £14m.

He has now been sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to nine years for his role in an organised crime group.

Detective Inspector Paul Crompton, from Greater Manchester Police's Serious Organised Crime Group, said: "Within a two-month period, Clarke collected and supplied at least 147 kilograms of cocaine.

"This quantity of drugs should not be underestimated, and this level of supply is rarely encountered in these types of investigations.

"It goes to show the level Clarke was operating at, he was organised, with a lot of experience which could only be developed over a considerable amount of time.

“I hope today’s (Friday) sentencing goes to show no matter how organised or sophisticated you may think you are- our detectives will proactively pursue all available lines of enquiry and take robust action against you. 

“Though some work into drug investigations can't always be seen - there is a lot going on behind the scenes.

“We will always listen to our communities' concerns and any information or issues that are fed to us can sometimes hugely assist our ongoing investigations.”