Two Crawley drug dealers bag over 20 years in jail after giant EncroChat bust
Operation Venetic nets hefty sentences
Isshaq Khan, 30, and his nephew Jan Lee, 33, both from Crawley, have been locked up for over 20 years combined. They were caught in the National Crime Agency’s massive Operation Venetic, which smashed the notorious EncroChat encrypted messaging service back in 2020.
How EncroChat took down a drug empire
EncroChat was a lifeline for criminals, letting them chat securely to dodge police. But European cops hacked in, exposing users to UK forces. Sussex Police traced Khan and Lee’s EncroChat accounts, revealing their open talks about dealing multi-kilos of cocaine and cannabis.
“From just a few months of messages, it was clear Lee and Khan ran a well-oiled drug operation, moving hundreds of thousands of pounds,” said Detective Inspector Jason Vickers of Sussex Police.
Guilty pleas lead to hefty jail time
Faced with airtight evidence, both men admitted guilt. At Lewes Crown Court on 14 February, they received sentences of 10 years and six months each. The judge said they held top roles, organising drug supply on a commercial scale around Crawley and Sussex.
Det Insp Vickers added: “These tough sentences send a clear message – drug crime won’t be tolerated anywhere in Sussex or the UK.”
Operation Venetic’s wider impact
The crackdown is part of a vast police effort. Operation Venetic has seen hundreds of criminals arrested and major organised crime networks smashed across the UK.
