Kent father and son who were part of organised crime group selling vast amount of cocaine jailed

Ashley Steel and James Steel were jailed for a total of ten and a half years. Credit: Kent Police

A father and son from Maidstone in Kent who were part of an organised crime group which used the encrypted EncroChat phone service to facilitate the supply of vast quantities of cocaine, have been jailed.

Ashley Steel and James Steel were sentenced, along with their associate Danny Devall, after an investigation led to the discovery of drugs hidden in places including behind the front grill of a vehicle.

EncroChat was a secure messaging service and was used by James Steel and Devall to secretly communicate with other criminals. It was decoded in the spring of 2020, by international law enforcement agencies.

Some of the decrypted messages revealed the pair had been using EncroChat user handles including Wonderfulninja, Minorlobster and Prizelake. They directed associates to addresses linked to James Steel’s father (Ashley) to make exchanges of cash and drugs.

  • Police discover thousands of pounds worth of drugs the group had hidden under the grill of a car

During the early hours of 25 April 2024, a search warrant was executed at James Steel’s home in Chartway Street in Sutton Valence, and more than £50,000 in cash was seized as well as vehicles including high-end motorcycles and a speed boat.

At the same time, searches took place at Ashley Steel’s house in Middlesex Road in Maidstone, as well as business units linked to him near Gravelly Bottom Road in Kingswood.

Ten kilos of cannabis and 150 grams of cocaine were found hidden within vehicles at one of the business addresses. Around £5,000 was also recovered.

The Steels were arrested along with Devall and all three were charged with drugs supply offences.

Danny Devall, 36, of Common Road, Hadlow was sentenced to eight years and seven months’ imprisonment. Credit: Kent Police

Devall, 36, of Common Road, Hadlow was sentenced to eight years and seven months’ imprisonment. James Steel, 40, received eight years and four months.

Ashley Steel, 61, was previously sentenced on 5 December to two years and two months.

Detective Constable Mark Simcox said: "Our investigation has clearly shown that James Steel and Danny Devall occupied leading roles in a criminal network which sought to supply drugs on a wholesale scale.

"They will have felt untouchable letting others take the risks whilst using an encrypted communication platform.

"It is impossible to quantify the sheer amount of drugs which may have passed through this operation, however, we know from other cases that EncroChat has been used by criminal gangs to facilitate the movement of cocaine with transactions totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"We will now be using the Proceeds of Crime Act to seek to recover cash and any other assets acquired, as a result of this criminal activity."

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