A Middlesbrough man who sold kilograms of cocaine and cannabis, and who left the UK for two years before surrendering to police, has been jailed for 11 years. Michael Hagan, 34, was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court, as first reported by ChronicleLive, which also cited Teesside Live.

Hagan, of Liverton Avenue, Newport, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply Class A and Class B drugs. He had initially denied involvement in the conspiracy, which ran between March and June 2020, while the country was under Covid lockdown restrictions.

EncroChat messages

The court heard that Hagan was identified after law enforcement agencies infiltrated the encrypted messaging network EncroChat in 2020. Messages sent under the alias “Vocal Dove” were analysed by a Detective Constable from Cleveland Police.

Prosecutor Christopher Rose KC read out a number of the decrypted messages. In one, Hagan told an associate: “we’re wholesalers – not a street dealers.” Others referred to “7kg of good quality cannabis”, paying a courier £1,500 and delivering £33,500 to someone. In April, the court heard, he mentioned being paid £30,400 by customers. He also discussed buying a kilogram of cannabis from suppliers in Sheffield.

Mr Rose told the court that a kilogram of cocaine was worth £40,000 to £50,000 wholesale. He said that over a 14-week period Hagan sold 11kg of cocaine and what “must be in excess of 10kg” of cannabis. The messages also referred to journeys to Hartlepool, Preston and London.

Defence and sentence

James Hines KC, defending, said Hagan was not running the operation and pointed to messages in which he asked another user what work there was to do. He said Hagan had travelled to places including Billingham, Stockton and County Durham.

The court heard that Hagan fled abroad after “panicking” when his trial was scheduled. Mr Hines described that as “entirely his fault” and said the authorities did not know where he was. He said Hagan returned voluntarily in August and handed himself in. He added that Hagan has the support of his partner.

Judge Peter Armstrong said Hagan had discussed obtaining and passing on kilos of drugs, involving tens of thousands of pounds. He said Hagan had played a “leading role”, buying and selling on a commercial scale.

Hagan’s relatives watched from the public gallery as he was sentenced. He was told he will face a proceeds of crime application, which is a process aimed at recovering money gained from criminal activity.

Background

Cannabis is a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, while cocaine is Class A. EncroChat was an encrypted phone network that European law enforcement agencies infiltrated in 2020, leading to numerous prosecutions across the UK.