A 42-year-old Felixstowe man has been jailed for nearly 13 years after conspiring to supply drugs valued at £2million.

Lee Dunn, of Alexandra Road, Felixstowe, admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis, but disputed the actual amounts prosecutors claimed he had been involved with.

Dunn, who Ipswich Crown Court heard had recently become grandfather and realised he heeded to change his ways, had only recently been released from prison on licence when he got involved in arranging drug deals over two and a half months from March to June 2020.

He was caught when officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), saw data uncovered following the seizure of servers linked to the Encrochat platform.

Unlocking the encrypted tool – used exclusively by criminals to communicate with each other – allowed investigators to view messages and other media sent between users as they discussed large-scale criminality such as the movement of drugs and weapons.

Using this data, detectives from ERSOU were able to establish that Dunn was on the system and uncovered conversations between him and various other users relating to the distribution of cocaine and cannabis.

Detective Inspector Ian Mawdesley from ERSOU said: "There is no doubt that Dunn was responsible for large scale drug dealing throughout the eastern region, organising the distribution of significant quantities of cocaine and cannabis, something which will have had a significant impact on our communities. 

"He thought he could operate above the law but thanks to the partnership working of enforcement activities involved in Operation Venetic, he was apprehended and will now be made to pay the price for his actions."

Judge Emma Peters said she was satisfied with the prosecution claims Dunn had been involved with conspiring to supply 23kgs of cocaine, and not less that the 10kg he claimed..

She said that despite his claim that he'd only been involved with less than 10kgs of cocaine she was satisfied he'd been involved with 23kgs of cocaine and sentenced him two 12 years and eight months in jail.