Drug lord who fuelled south London gangs jailed for 11 years – South London News

A man has been jailed after the Metropolitan Police accessed his EncroChat device and uncovered an operation using south London gangs to supply cocaine and cannabis with an estimated street value of £3million.

Footballer Jason Pusey, 34, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison on Tuesday at Kingston-Upon-Hull Crown Court. Pusey was convicted of his role in supplying 107kg of cocaine, 235kg of ketamine and 447kg of cannabis.

He was a footballer from Gibraltar who began his career with Atletico Madrid’s youth team before playing in Spain and Gibraltar, making four appearances for his national team.

Detective Inspector Duncan Askew, in charge of the investigation at the Metropolitan Police’s Special Crime Team, said: “Pusey ran a large-scale drugs operation while maintaining a respectable football career.

“On the surface he appeared to be a caring family man – in reality he was making millions by sending commercial quantities of controlled drugs to gangs in south London.

“He did all this with no thought for the misery and devastation that the drug trade caused in London communities, or the violence it led to.

“Operation Eternal’s investigations over the last three years have led to the Metropolitan Police identifying and arresting key criminal figures and stemming the flow of drugs and weapons onto the streets.

“Drug trafficking is based on exploitation and violence, and we will relentlessly pursue those involved and bring them to justice.”

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police arrested Pusey, of Coperland Crescent, Market Weighton, York, and in June 2020 began an investigation into the username ‘IrregularFog’ on Encrochat.

EncroChat is an encrypted communications network. Evidence showed that between March 2020 and June 2020, Pusey was the sole user of the EncroChat encrypted mobile phone and was involved in the wholesale distribution of Class A and B drugs.

The passwords matched the names and birth dates of Pusey’s family members, the EncroChat phone locations matched those on his cell phone, and the messages on the device matched the incredibly detailed details of Pusey’s travels.

There was evidence on the EncroChat device that showed Pusey was running a highly successful drugs operation. The EncroChat device also contained numerous messages relating to the importation of Class A drugs into the UK and very detailed routes used by various importers and couriers.

Pusey was arrested at his home on June 20 last year and charged with the offences a day later.

He pleaded guilty at Kingston-Upon-Hull Crown Court on July 26 last year to charges of conspiracy to supply a Class A drug (cocaine), conspiracy to supply a Class A drug (ketamine) and conspiracy to supply a Class B drug (cannabis).

Pictured above: Pusey in his Gibraltar Phoenix FC kit (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) and secured evidence: a photo from the EnroChat account (centre) and a wrapper containing cocaine (Photo: The Met)

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