Cocaine Vendor Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison
A drug dealer living in Huddersfield was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to distributing large quantities of drugs through the darkweb.
According to a press release by the West Yorkshire Police, the Leeds Crown Court sentenced 41-year-old Simon Barclay to nine years in prison for distributing large quantities of cocaine and heroin through the darkweb.
Barclay was identified following months of investigations into drug trafficking on the darkweb by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU). After establishing that Barclay was running three darkweb vendor accounts, the ERSOU contacted the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Cyber Crime Unit and Kirklees Police, who launched a joint investigation.
During the investigations, investigators allegedly saw Barclay make regular drop-offs of packages to a post office close to his residence. On November 3, 2021, the investigators stopped Barclay on his way to the post office. He was carrying a bag that had several drug packages addressed to different people.
The investigators subsequently searched two properties linked to the defendant. The searches resulted in the seizure of cocaine and heroin worth £1.2 million. The investigators also seized several electronic devices. Forensic analysis of the seized electronic devices led to the seizure of cryptocurrency worth approximately £5.5 million.
Barclay pleaded guilty to possession of Class A and B and possession of cryptocurrency linked to a crime.
Det Insp Simon Reddington of the Kirklees Police Programme Precision Team:
“Barclay has clearly been a significant player in the possession and sale of Class A drugs in Kirklees and nationally this has been reflected in the sentence he has been given today. He was caught as a result of detailed collaborative working between Kirklees Police and partner agencies operating as part of UK DICE. Barclay’s use of the dark web proved to be the key to opening the door to his drugs network and this operation truly demonstrates the effectiveness of information sharing between the police and our national and regional partners.”
Kirklees Dark Web Criminal Jailed After £1-Million Drugs Haul Seized. | archive.is, archive.org, westyorkshire.police.uk