Family man became embroiled in plot to smuggle 300kg of cocaine from Brazil via Port of Liverpool
A "popular" dock worker threw away his well paid job and family life in return for "a quid" and ended up with a lengthy stretch behind bars.
"Middle man" Murphy was referred to as his "nephew" by the 50-year-old, who had previously been in a relationship with his aunt. Martine Snowdon, prosecuting, said on Friday: "Mr Murphy was aware of the nature of Mr Bennett's business with Paul McQuade and the fact that they communicated via encrypted handles.
Full Flock and Bennett also discussed potential importation routes from Ecuador and Costa Rica, while McQuade advised his co-defendant over the "best containers to use to avoid the consignment being intercepted by the port authorities". The dad-of-two told him via EncroChat: "Fridges are defo the hardest.
McQuade outlined how they could claim that the containers had been damaged in order to gain access to the goods inside in private. Bennett and Murphy then met on May 17, after which the former "provided Full Flock with the information supplied". Then, on May 20, Murphy "alerted Bennett to a potential issue regarding the box". Bennett subsequently told Sin City Gold that he had "lost that girl's number", which Ms Snowdon said was a "coded reference to the details of a container" supplied on May 1.
Murphy has two previous convictions for drug trafficking, including receiving two years for possession with intent to supply a class A drug in 2003. He was then handed 69 months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine in 2013 in relation to half a kilogram which was delivered from Merseyside to the Lancashire area.
"Mr Murphy was employed from May 2017 as a dock worker. This is not a case where this criminality arose within a very short time of him obtaining employment. He had tried to go straight and find well paid employment. He had become the principal breadwinner of the family. Sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: "Robert Bennett and Paul McQuade, along with others, were involved in a conspiracy to import 300kg of cocaine from Brazil into the port where you worked as a driver. You knew Paul McQuade from work and you were also friends.
Crime Tuebrook Huyton Netherton Fazakerley
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