Drug kingpin jailed after fleeing to Dubai and five years on the run

The leader of an organised crime group responsible for trafficking huge quantities of cocaine, heroin and cannabis across West Essex and London has been jailed after spending almost five years on the run.

Max Matthews, 31, of Albion Drive, London, absconded from police bail in July 2021 and fled abroad as investigators closed in on his criminal network. However, Essex Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit continued to build its case and work with national and international partners to locate him.

Matthews was eventually tracked down in Dubai and extradited back to the UK in February this year. Appearing at court on Thursday 6 August, he was jailed for 12 years and six months after admitting conspiring to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis, as well as conspiring to commit money laundering.

Essex Police said: "Our investigation established Matthews sat at the top of a hierarchy of criminals responsible for moving vast quantities of drugs and criminal cash between March and July 2020."

Detectives uncovered the operation through information obtained as part of Operation Venetic, the national response to the infiltration of EncroChat, an encrypted communications platform used exclusively by criminals.

EncroChat provided a supposedly secure messaging service with around 60,000 users worldwide, including approximately 10,000 in the UK. It was widely used to coordinate serious criminal activity, including drug trafficking and money laundering.

Information supplied through international law enforcement partners enabled detectives to identify several members of Matthews' organised crime group through their EncroChat aliases. Seven members of the conspiracy have already been sentenced to a combined total of more than 40 years in prison.

Evidence revealed extensive discussions around drug trafficking, including the sharing of images of drugs and records showing the movement of substantial quantities of drugs and cash.

Matthews operated under the EncroChat handles 'Kingspainard' and 'Encrogeezer'. He maintained ledgers detailing the scale of the organisation's activities and was directly responsible for purchasing multi-kilo quantities of Class A and Class B drugs.

The group moved hundreds of thousands of pounds in criminal cash every week. The investigation also exposed the violence underpinning the operation. On one occasion, Matthews offered £20,000 to have an individual assaulted.

Despite fleeing the UK in an attempt to evade justice, Matthews ultimately faced overwhelming evidence gathered by investigators and admitted his role in the conspiracy upon his return to police custody.

The conviction follows the earlier sentencing of Matthews' second-in-command, Henry Allpress, who was jailed for 13 years in 2023.

Using the EncroChat handle 'Comebackking', Allpress played a key role in directing the delivery, collection and purchase of drugs, as well as laundering criminal profits.

Working alongside the National Crime Agency, officers traced Allpress to Spain and secured his return to the UK, where he was charged and convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs and money laundering offences.