Man jailed for five years and three months after large scale drug dealing during Covid lockdown

Kane Worthington

A Middleton man has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for his role in an Organised Crime Group (OCG) involved in the large-scale supply of Class A and B drugs across Greater Manchester.

Kane Worthington, 34, played a significant role in the distribution of drugs over significant period of time, acting as the middleman between suppliers and customers.

He was sentenced on Friday 14 February to serve 63 months for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and 36 months concurrently for conspiracy to supply Class B drugs.

Greater Manchester Police has said that this investigation has come from them accessing data on encrypted mobile phones, which falls under Operation Venetic, the UK’s response to disrupt the encrypted communication system used by organised criminal networks.

The technology behind these devices previously made it impossible for police to obtain any data or evidence from the devices. Unfortunately for Worthington, the disruption of Encro chat allowed officers to access the encrypted data which has ultimately resulted in his conviction.

Content on the encrypted phone revealed messages from Worthington, who was using the alias ‘loftyrocket’, was messaging suppliers and customers across Manchester, arranging drop offs and pickups of cannabis and cocaine, prices and how much money he owed to one supplier.

The court heard how between 26 March 2020 and 23 May 2020, Worthington was in conversation with 25 different handles during that period.

It is thought that the street value of the 4kg of cocaine and 16lbs of cannabis would have yielded a return of close to £500,000.  

Detective Inspector Richard Castley from GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group said: “Worthington not only dealt drugs but showed utter contempt for public safety during a national pandemic, continuing his criminal enterprise while law-abiding abiding citizens made sacrifices to protect the NHS.

“This sentence sends a clear message to criminals who think they can operate outside of the law. Our teams will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt drug supply chains and bring offenders to justice.

“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 on-going investigations.”

Anyone with information or concerns should report to police online, if able, at www.gmp.police.uk or via 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.

Details can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.