A man from Liverpool has been jailed for 26 years for drugs and firearm offences following an investigation by Merseyside Police.
Terence Clarke, 35 was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court today, Thursday 26 October, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs. For these offences, he was sentenced to 14 years.
He was also jailed for an additional 12 years after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to possess prohibited firearms for sale or transfer.
On top of this, Clarke was handed a Serious Crime Prevention Order, which is aimed at deterring future criminal activity, which will be in force for five years after he’s released.
Detectives were able to prove that Clarke was operating the Encrochat handle ‘sacredtruck’ to supply drugs and transfer firearms.
He was arrested on Tuesday 7 February this year after detectives suspected he was buying Class A and B drugs in large quantities on a near daily basis and then bulking them out with adulterants.
Between 27 March and 4 June 2020, Clarke supplied 15kg of cocaine, 19kg of heroin, 1kg of crack cocaine and 60kg of cannabis.
Clarke would use others to collect and sell his drugs, co-ordinating the whole operation from his Encrochat phone.
During the period of 27 March and 4 June 2020, Clarke had 26 different Encrochat handles stored in his list of contacts and he was in communication with 20 of those people.
During this period, it’s estimated Clarke spent more than £200,000 on drugs transactions and on 6 April 2020, Clarke sent an image (see below image) from his encrypted device of a large quantity of cash and wrote ‘just putting that into quids’ – meaning he was putting the cash into £1,000 bundles.
Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Ball said, “It’s pleasing to see that Clarke has been given a significant sentencing that reflects the severity of the crimes he committed.
“Following some excellent work by detectives, they were able to identify Clarke as being the user of the handle ‘sacredtruck’ and identify him as being the person behind the sales of large quantities of drugs.
“Clarke’s Encrochat messages clearly revealed his leading involvement in drugs and firearms conspiracies that could have caused suffering to families and residents in our communities.”
Detective Chief Inspector Ball continued, “Merseyside Police pro-actively investigates serious organised crime including the use of guns and the supply and distribution of drugs on Merseyside and is relentless in its pursuit of offenders.
“We are committed to removing guns, knives and all dangerous weapons from our streets and putting the people who carry them before the courts.
“These people think they are above the law and can continue to ply their illicit trade and profit from their crimes.
“I am pleased that through detailed and thorough investigations we managed to secure evidence to put him behind bars.
“Our work to prevent such people from supplying illegal drugs to vulnerable people in our communities goes on, and others already charged are waiting to hear their fate in court.”
Anyone who has information about drug dealing in the community can contact police by sending a DM to @MerPolCC, calling 101 or contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Image: Terence Clarke/Merseyside Police
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