Drug dealer among UK's 'most wanted' jailed

A fugitive drug dealer who was on the run for almost two years before being arrested in a shopping mall car park in Bulgaria has today (17 November 2023) been jailed for ten years.

Benjamin Macann, aged 34, formerly of Halfpenny Lane, Beetley, Dereham, used the supposedly secure messaging system EncroChat to bring large amounts of cocaine into Norfolk.

He appeared at Norwich Crown Court on Friday 17 November 2023 for sentencing having previously admitted to the supply of cocaine between 1 April 2020 and 15 January 2021.

He was handed a jail sentence of ten years.

A public appeal to help trace Macann was made in January 2022 when the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Crimestoppers launched a Most Wanted campaign featuring 12 fugitives they believed to be hiding in Spain.

The Norfolk and Suffolk Serious and Organised Crime Unit played a major part working closely with other law enforcement partners to locate Macann.

He was subsequently arrested in the southern city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in June 2022, having left the UK in September 2020.

He landed in the UK on 7 July 2022 and was immediately taken to Norwich Magistrates Court where he was remanded in custody.

At the time, he had a fake passport and a genuine passport in someone else's name.

Det Sgt Eddie Hammond of the Norfolk and Suffolk Serious Organised Crime Unit said: “Macann played a major role in an organised crime group responsible for the purchase, collection, and delivery of commercial quantities of cocaine into Norfolk.

“He left the UK and made significant attempts to evade arrest from the authorities but was tracked down and bought back to face justice by some excellent work carried out by members of the Norfolk and Suffolk Serious and Organised Crime Unit and law enforcement partners.

"When located and arrested in Bulgaria he was in possession of a false passport and driving licence.

“The illicit supply of Class A Drugs ruins lives. Norfolk and Suffolk Police will always pursue offenders who are involved in the supplying and selling of drugs, take action, and bring them before the courts.”

Macann used EncroChat, which has since been closed, to bring large amounts of cocaine into Norfolk using the code names Wornfire and Tidyfly.

Among messages recovered by investigators as they collected evidence against him were those detailing numerous instances where he conspired to supply cocaine, negotiated prices, and shared pictures of cocaine blocks featuring an identifiable stamp.

They reveal he regularly collected large sums of money from various locations across Norfolk.

According to the messages one deal involving a drop in Blofield was said to be worth £155,000.

His co-accused Dean Enifer and Peter McKenna were arrested in January 2021 following a detailed and lengthy investigation by The Norfolk and Suffolk Serious and Organised Crime Unit to make the crucial evidential links to the encrypted phone devices that were used by the defendants to carry out the commercial supply of cocaine across Norfolk.

Enifer was jailed for eight years and three months and McKenna was jailed for seven years and ten months in August 2021.

Pictures included below show images of blocks of cocaine that were shared on the encrypted messaging system between Macann, Enifer and McKenna. Image 5 shows cash Macann said was '£75,000 for tomorrow'. He stated there was £36,910 in image 6.