A 30-year-old Albanian man who kept a flat in North london to supply more than £1m worth Of cocaine in just four months has been jailed for 11 years and three months.
Xhuljan Shehu, 30, was arrested after officers managed to decode a RightMove advert with photos of his flat in Whittington Way, Pinner, where he was organising the import and distribution of cocaine using the encrypted communication platform EncroChat.
Shehu had used a fake Greek passport to secure rent at the Pinner flat in an attempt to conceal his identity for drug dealing. When questioned, Shehu denied having an EncroChat phone or any involvement in drug dealing and claimed he was not aware of the Pinner flat and said he lived alone in Uxbridge.
But detectives found a photo of an Albanian-language television program taken inside the Pinner apartment on his phone, which also contained other photos of drugs and cash taken inside the same apartment.
The property's light fixtures from the photos match a Right Move rental ad for the apartment.
Detectives discovered Shehu's 20,902 EncroChat messages, posted under the name "Maidenram," which revealed he had conversations with various buyers and sent instructions for quality control and drug negotiations.
