A STANFORD-le-Hope businesman is one of three men convicted for their roles in the widespread sale of drugs in Essex.

Simon Renoldi, from Fobbing whose business interest include the Railway Tavern in Stanford, was a leading figure in the gang, who were investigated under 'Op Venetic' – a major operation involving the cracking of a bespoke encrypted global communication service.

EncroChat offered a secure mobile phone instant messaging service with 60,000 users worldwide and around 10,000 in the UK.

Since 2016, international law enforcement agencies worked together to target EncroChat and agencies in France and the Netherlands infiltrated the platform.

The intelligence gleaned through this was then shared via Europol to national law enforcement agencies.

Through studying messages garnered from the EncroChat infiltration in April 2020, officers identified Renoldi, Iain Green, and Matthew Hutchinson as using the handles 'Typicalknee', 'Harshwater', and 'Pineappletequila' respectively.

The messages also showed Renoldi was involved in supplying kilos of cocaine with several different people including Green and Hutchinson, and that Renoldi and Green were involved in the supply of MDMA and discussed supplying cannabis.

Officers also discovered messages indicating Hutchinson was involved in shipping cocaine and ketamine to New Zealand and Australia and, at one point, he and Renoldi discussed joining up to supply more cocaine to Australia.

All three openly discussed moving large sums of money around to pay for the drugs.

This information led to surveillance being carried out which captured Renoldi and Green meeting to exchange more than £140,000 in cash.

Further messages between the three men also discuss debts of tens of thousands of pounds that both Green and Hutchinson owed Renoldi.

Other messages discussing the sale of drugs led to a warrant at an address in Basildon being executed where £705,000 in cash and 5kg of cocaine were seized, as well as an Encrochat device.

During the search of the address a notebook with handwritten notes and a piece of paper with notes on were recovered.

These included postcodes and figures next to them, and some of the postcodes were for the Railway Tavern in Stanford-le-Hope which Renoldi had control of.

Carrier bags containing cash were forensically examined and a finger print belonging to Renoldi was identified on one bag which contained more than £100,000.

Throughout June of the same year, officers continued to track the trio and their messages.

On 14 June, Renoldi, 51, of High Road Fobbing was arrested at his home during a warrant where more than £5,000 in cash was found along with the Encro device linked to 'Typicalknee'.

A search of the Railway Tavern located a further £68,950 in cash.

Fifty-three year-old Hutchinson, of Talbrook, Brentwood was arrested at his home the following day, while Green, 52, of Ronald Park, Westcliff was arrested the following month.

Renoldi was later charged with two counts conspiracy to commit cocaine, conspiracy to supply ecstasy, two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class B drug, and acquiring, using, or possessing criminal property.

Hutchinson was charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

Green was charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply ecstasy, and conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

All three denied the charges against them but, following a trial at Basildon Crown Court which lasted several weeks, they were found guilty yesterday (5 November).

They will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 10 January.

Detective Inspector Yoni Adler, from the Essex Police Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said:

A finger print belonging to Renoldi was identified on one bag which contained more than £100,000.

"Simon Renoldi, Iain Green, and Matthew Hutchinson were involved in the large scale supply of drugs and the exchange of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pounds.

"Drugs ruin lives and destroy communities.

"These three men were making a fortune of the exploitation and misery of others.

"That is unacceptable.

"We work every day to tackle those involved in organised criminal activities and our message is clear – if you think you can commit crime in Essex and get away with it, you're wrong and we'll put you behind bars."

Last year Thurrock Council warned Renoldi that he had to stay away from the Railway Tavern, which its licensing team had temporarily shut down.