To death and taxes can, as drug dealer Rimantas Streckis discovered, can be added banks as something you can’t avoid.
When government tax officials checked his bank records, they discovered £17,000 had been transferred to one account.
And in another account, he had deposited £47,000.
At Huntingdon Crown Court the class A drug dealer admitted laundering tens of thousands of pounds.
Streckis, 27, came to police attention on 28 July 2021 after he was stopped and arrested on the A47 heading towards Eye, Peterborough, following reports of a suspected drug deal involving the vehicle he was in.
Finding more than £10,000 in cash in the car, Streckis and his associate, Luke Waters, were both arrested on suspicion of money laundering, but released under investigation while enquiries were carried out.
Analysis of Streckis’ mobile phone showed clear evidence of dealing class A drugs – both cocaine and heroin – with hundreds of messages being sent out in bulk at a time.
Enquiries with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) identified Streckis was last shown declaring an income between 2018 and 2019, however his bank records showed just over £17,000 had been transferred into one account, while almost £47,000 had been transferred into another.
Streckis, of Brynmore, Bretton, appeared in court today (Wednesday 7 June) where he was sentenced to four years and one month in prison.
He had previously admitting two counts of being concerned in the supply of cocaine, two counts of being concerned in the supply of heroin, two counts of converting criminal property (money laundering) – namely £57,868.99, and possession of cannabis.
In July last year, Waters was sentenced to 10 years and two months in prison after admitting being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, as well as acquiring criminal property.
Waters organised the large-scale distribution of at least £500,000 worth of cocaine and heroin was busted after “secret” messages were cracked.
Waters, 26, was one of many people found to be dealing class A drugs as part of Operation Venetic – the UK’s response to one of the world’s largest providers of encrypted communications, EncroChat, being cracked by international law enforcement.
Waters was linked to the platform handle of “decentsatin”, and found to be communicating with other known drug dealers, including 42-year-old Jaspreet Virdee who was jailed for 11-and-a-half years..
The encrypted messages showed Waters confirming his cocaine had “landed” in the UK and offering to sell it to other dealers in the region of £40,000 per kilo.
On 28 July last year, he was stopped and arrested by police on the A47 heading towards Eye in Peterborough after reports of a suspected drug deal involving that vehicle, but released under investigation after he claimed £3,914 in cash on him was for a car, he was on his way to buy.
Following further investigation, Waters, of Salix Road, Hampton Hargate, was arrested at a fuel station in Bourne, Lincolnshire, on 29 December 2021.
Evidence was found of him living a lavish lifestyle and boasting about high-end purchases of watches, having “street trophies” and splashing cash on social media.
A download of his mobile phone also uncovered images of what appeared to be Waters throwing a phone into the sea, with the caption “bye Encro”, after EncroChat had been decrypted by law enforcement.
He was charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, as well as acquiring criminal property, all of which he admitted in court.
He also admitted assault by beating after he punched a man in the face over a fallout with his brother.
He appeared at Peterborough Crown Court last year where he was sentenced to 10 years and two months in prison.
