Three drug dealers involved in running a cocaine network worth more than £5 million have been jailed.

The men, from Malling and Maidstone, were part of a criminal gang whose illegal activities were uncovered after the cracking of the heavily encrypted mobile phone service EncroChat.

Brothers Aaron, 46, and Gray Elcombe, 54, secretly communicated using handles Tasteful Revolver, Urban Bonsai and Striking Boat and contacted others to help buy and sell at least 60 kilograms of the Class A drug.

EncroChat was decoded by international law enforcement agencies in 2020 and messages were passed on to Kent Police.

An investigation was launched by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate which revealed the brothers had an almost daily routine of seeking and arranging to buy and sell large amounts of cocaine.

They used encrypted messages to exchange cash and drugs and to direct people to complete deals on their behalf.

Both were arrested on September 29, 2021, and a third suspect, Glyn Taylor, was detained the same day.

All three were charged and entered guilty pleas at Maidstone Crown Court and were sentenced yesterday (November 6).

Gray Elcombe, previously of Tower View, Kings Hill, was sentenced to 12 years and six months’ imprisonment after admitting he was involved in the supply of cocaine and possession of criminal property, namely £5,000 cash seized.

His younger brother Aaron Elcombe, of St Francis Close, Penenden Heath, Maidstone, was jailed for 11 years and nine months, for also being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Three other counts, including the supply of amphetamine and ketamine, were ordered by the court to lie on file.

Glyn Taylor, 44, of Barnhurst Road, Maidstone, was sentenced to five years. He pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and three counts of possessing drugs with intent to supply.

Detective Constable Simon Harrold said: “Our investigation has clearly shown that Gray Elcombe and Aaron Elcombe occupied leading roles in an organised criminal gang that sought to supply drugs on a wholesale scale.

“They committed these offences whilst on licence, having been released from prison for previous drugs supply offences, but will have felt untouchable letting others take the risks whilst using an encrypted communication platform.

“This misplaced confidence has ultimately provided irrefutable evidence of a criminal operation which extended throughout and beyond Kent, and which at the very least was active throughout most of 2020.

“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.”

Three other offenders linked to the investigation were previously jailed in 2021 and 2022.