Prison for Fugitive Heroin Smuggler Who Used Encrypted Phone
A Liverpool man who played a central role in a heroin trafficking ring and evaded capture for nearly two years has been jailed for 12 years and seven months.
Brian Storey, 49, was convicted of importing and supplying high-purity heroin after being caught using EncroChat, a now-dismantled encrypted messaging platform popular among organized criminals. His conviction marks a major victory for the National Crime Agency (NCA), which led the investigation as part of Operation Venetic.
Storey had fled the UK in 2021 after four of his co-conspirators were arrested and charged in connection with the smuggling of 18kg of heroin, worth an estimated £900,000. Authorities believe the group aimed to import up to 90kg of heroin weekly, sourced from Spain and the Netherlands.
Using the encrypted handle “RichJay,” Storey arranged deliveries from Spanish suppliers and directed the logistics of getting heroin into the UK via mail courier services. The drugs were delivered to addresses linked to fake companies in towns including Huntingdon, Swindon, Milton Keynes, and Northampton before being forwarded to contacts in Liverpool and North Wales.
Storey worked closely with Stephen Hunt, 64, who set up courier accounts and shell companies used to receive the drug shipments. The group also included Dylan Sanger, 38, and two others—Tyrone Holbrook-Harris, 31, and Darren Barrett, 45—who were arrested in a pub car park in Mold in May 2020 with nearly 9.5kg of heroin in their possession.
EncroChat messages obtained by the NCA revealed the group’s panic following the arrests, with one user remarking to “Syruproad” (later identified as Sanger), “That NCA don’t f*ck about.”
Despite these arrests, Storey managed to evade capture. He fled to southern Spain using a passport obtained through fraud. The NCA identified him as “RichJay” by October 2021 and raided his home in Fulwood Park, Liverpool, but he had already absconded.
His luck ran out in September 2023 when he returned to the UK. A Cheshire Police officer responding to an unrelated assault in Chester city centre recognized Storey and arrested him on the spot.
Storey was charged shortly afterward and initially pleaded not guilty. However, just days into his trial at Caernarfon Crown Court, he changed his plea on July 23, 2025, admitting his role in the operation.
“Our investigation exposed that Storey was an essential component in the importation of almost a million pounds-worth of heroin,” said NCA lead investigator Luke Seldon. “He was the point-person for the Spanish supplier and managed logistics for heroin movement into and around the UK.”
Seldon emphasized the lethal danger posed by heroin, noting it is linked to more deaths than any other drug in the UK. He credited the arrest to both NCA diligence and a sharp-eyed Cheshire officer.
With his sentencing complete, Storey joins his co-conspirators, who were collectively sentenced to more than 30 years, behind bars.
