@crimereportworldwide: 🚨 £109 MILLION DRUG EMPIRE COLLAPSES AFTER ENCROCHAT EXPOSES ‘UNTOUCHABLE’ KINGPIN 💥 A man who allegedly believed he was safely running a multi-million-pound drugs empire from a luxury villa in Marbella has now been sentenced to more than 16 years behind bars. Steven Bullen, 51, was identified by investigators after thousands of encrypted EncroChat messages were painstakingly analysed as part of the UK’s Operation Venetic investigation. Prosecutors said the evidence linked him to the importation of around 1.1 tonnes of cocaine, alongside large-scale ecstasy and amphetamine operations with a combined estimated street value of £109 million. But he wasn’t working alone. Former UPS team leader Zak Archbold, 30, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after investigators proved he abused his position to help cocaine parcels avoid Border Force inspections. Court proceedings heard he allegedly swapped parcel labels inside a depot and was promised £750 for every kilogram that successfully entered the UK. The investigation eventually stretched across Europe, with Spanish police arresting Bullen at his Marbella villa before he was extradited back to Britain. Officers also recovered hundreds of spreadsheets and records allegedly documenting drug transactions and payments. Together, the pair have now received more than 28 years in prison, bringing another major EncroChat organised crime network to an end. 💬 Do you think the EncroChat operation has permanently changed organised crime in the UK, or have criminal networks simply adapted? 👇 Let us know your thoughts. #fyp #crime #marbella #uk #prison

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Sunday 12 July 2026 20:10:00 GMT