Andrew Doran admitted drugs importation charges at court on Friday
Andrew Doran was arrested in Malaga, southern Spain(Image: NCA)
A drug smuggler who shipped cocaine from mainland Europe stashed in gas canisters used the encrypted phone handle “jurgensixnineteen”. Andrew Doran, 42 and originally from Kirkby, was arrested in Malaga, southern Spain and extradited back to the UK on October 1 in connection with the large-scale class A drug plot.
Appearing before Newcastle Crown Court on Friday, Doran admitted drugs importation charges and was remanded into custody to be sentenced on February 27, 2026.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Doran admitted his role in the plot was to smuggle cocaine from the Netherlands into the UK inside the gas canisters, which had been cut open and then welded shut after the drugs had been placed inside.
Between October 2019 and April 2020, 12 gas bottles were collected by vehicles from locations in Chatham, Kent, Corby, Northampton and Peterborough. Each bottle contained between 12 and 16 kilos of cocaine, totalling 172 kilos of the class A drug. Hidden compartments in the vehicles were also used for the onward transportation of money and drugs.
Doran, operating the personalised EncroChat handle “jurgensixnineteen”, played a pivotal role in the conspiracy, working closely with 43-year-old Kevin Taylor, from Newcastle, who went by “loyalmover”. The latter was jailed for 27 years in September.
Doran liaised with international contacts, working closely with criminals in the Netherlands to facilitate the importations.
He also instructed Taylor to collect and move large sums of money from drugs sales in the north east, organising the cash’s transfer south and abroad for further drugs importations using his numerous couriers and the token system.
Cocine after being transported to UK next to cut open gas cannister(Image: NCA)
The cash was generally moved in batches of £250,000 at a time. He also arranged for the importation of 42 kilos of cocaine which was planned to be smuggled from the Netherlands between March and June 2020.
The investigations formed part of Operation Venetic, the UK NCA-led law enforcement response to the takedown of the EncroChat service in June 2020.
NCA branch commander Martin Clarke said: “Andrew Doran was a key player in this conspiracy, instructing criminal contacts at home and abroad on how the cocaine should be moved and what to do with it when it reached the UK.
“He may have felt untouchable in Spain but his extradition to the UK shows that we will never give up on the pursuit of justice, wherever criminals are in the world.
“Individuals like Doran have no concern for the immense harm that class A drugs like cocaine can cause to communities.
“Their sole motivation is financial gain and they will go to any lengths to transport their commodity, in this case hidden inside gas canisters.
“The cocaine trade leads to violence and exploitation at every level, which is why the NCA continues to work with partners at home and abroad to disrupt the organised criminals who control it, and protect the public.”