Drug dealer caught by Tameside Challenger Team

Drug dealer jailed for 17 years following investigation by GMP’s Tameside Challenger team.

A dealer planning to supply £9m of drugs has been jailed for 17 years following an investigation by Greater Manchester Police's Challenger team in Tameside.

Nathan Taylor (13/07/1985) of Marquess Way, Middleton, was jailed after admitting two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs - heroin and cocaine.

He was also sentenced to concurrent sentences of eight years for two counts of conspiracy to supply class B drugs (cannabis and ketamine) and five years for money laundering.

Taylor pleaded guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing at Minshull Street Crown Court.

He orchestrated the purchase and distribution of substantial quantities of drugs between February 2020 and June 2020, handled 89kg of cocaine, 1kg of heroin and 5kg of ketamine.

Taylor paid nearly £3m for these drugs, with an approximate street value exceeding £9.1m.

Despite no drugs or significant amounts of money being recovered during the investigation, details obtained from encrypted mobile phones provided the evidence against Taylor.

Encrypted phones, commonly used by organised crime groups using Encrochat software, played a central role in the investigation.

Taylor was linked to the encrypted handles 'surlycat' and 'lemonflicker' through matching tattoos on his body and geo-location data.

He was arrested at his home address in August 2021.

Detective Constable Daniel Riley said: “Taylor thought he was above the law, operating behind technology to avoid detection from the authorities.

"What he didn’t know is that officers were tracking his words and ultimately used them against him.

“Our investigation managed to reveal Taylor as the purchaser of substantial quantities of drugs between February 2020 and June 2020, paying almost £3m for class A and B drugs.

“Although we didn’t recover any drugs, conversations obtained from encrypted mobile phones provided the evidence against him and showed him securing these purchases.

"We are satisfied with the outcome of this case. This sentence serves as a reminder that such criminality will not be tolerated and justice will be served.”

Detective Inspector Ian Parker said: “Our Challenger teams across Greater Manchester are committed to tackling county lines and we will act upon any concerns or information the community give to us to tackle serious and organised crime for good.

“If you are concerned about criminal activity within your area, you can report this to us directly on 101 or by reporting information using our online report tool at www.gmp.police.uk.”