'Most wanted' man snared at Amsterdam airport

A cocaine and heroin dealer was snared at Amsterdam airport after being listed as police's 'most wanted'.

Lee McKune was busted by officers in December 2023 for his leading role in a major conspiracy to supply class A drugs, the Liverpool Echo reports. The 35-year-old, known by the EncroChat handle Zone Pizza, was responsible for moving kilos upon kilos of cocaine and heroin as part of a 'sophisticated' operation on Merseyside since April 2020.

Prosecutor Matthew Conway told Liverpool Crown Court how the dad was linked to the online handle on Encrochat after investigators managed to find clues about his personal life he had mentioned on the platform. The court heard the dealer mentioned his father-in-law's hospital stay, his niece's birthday coming up and wanting to avoid the coronavirus because he 'had no spleen'.

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The court was told how Zone Pizza was working as part of an 'extensive' operation with dozens of contacts and handling quantities of Class A drugs that weighed almost 100kg. EncroChat messages between the defendant and his network talked about specific emblems to go on shipments.

The court heard he worked alongside two other handles - Full Flock and Fox Hedge. It was apparent from messages that both the defendant and Full Flock were leaders of the plot.

The prosecutor said McKune played a major role in the conspiracy and would have expected 'significant reward' for his risk in running the illegal substances. It was said he remained 'in the loop with logistics' and made promises of more work to those that helped him shift the supply.

When police cross referenced all of these facts, they found