Home » Son of The Farm’s Lead Singer Jailed for £1.3m EncroChat Drug Conspiracy

Son of The Farm’s Lead Singer Jailed for £1.3m EncroChat Drug Conspiracy

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The drug dealer son of The Farm’s lead singer has been jailed for more than 10 years after detectives identified him through messages referencing his famous father and a picture of him with the Champions League trophy.

Thomas Hooton, 30, was sentenced to 10 years and eight months at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine, cannabis and ketamine worth approximately £1.3 million.

The son of Peter Hooton, 62, who fronted the Liverpool band behind 1990s hits including “All Together Now” and “Groovy Train”, was caught using the encrypted messaging service EncroChat under the handle “Ownraptor”.

Picture with Champions League Trophy Proves Fatal Error

Specialist investigators from Merseyside’s Organised Crime Partnership pieced together Hooton’s identity through a series of digital breadcrumbs he left on the encrypted platform between March and June 2020.

A crucial clue came when Hooton sent an associate a picture of his father with the Champions League trophy, linking the criminal account directly to The Farm’s frontman.

In other messages, “Ownraptor” discussed driving a black Audi A3 and mentioned that his “arl fella” – Scouse slang for father – had arranged his insurance. Official checks subsequently confirmed that Peter Hooton had indeed insured a black Audi A3 for his son Thomas.

The drug dealer, of Victoria Road West, Crosby, Liverpool, was arrested in April this year following the painstaking investigation.

Industrial-Scale Drug Supply Operation

The National Crime Agency revealed the staggering scale of Hooton’s criminal enterprise, which supplied drugs across the UK through County Lines operations.

At minimum, investigators found Hooton was involved in supplying 42.5kg of cannabis, 3.25kg of heroin, 10kg of cocaine and 1kg of ketamine – with a combined wholesale value of around £1.3 million.

His encrypted messages revealed he claimed to be in possession of approximately £400,000 whilst owing £258,000 to other criminals.

The 30-year-old maintained 41 different contact names within his EncroChat network, coordinating drug supplies to criminals across Scotland, north-east England and southern England.

“His Criminal Reach Took Considerable Time to Establish”

Detective Chief Inspector Lynsay Armbruster, speaking after the sentencing, emphasised the sophisticated nature of Hooton’s operation.

“It’s clear Hooton was involved in organised crime for a long time before he was charged,” DCI Armbruster said. “His criminal and geographical reach will have taken considerable time to establish.”

She added: “His drug supply operations were on an almost daily basis, they were sustained and spanned the UK working with high level criminals.”

The detective’s comments underscore how Hooton had built a trusted position within organised crime networks, brokering multi-million pound deals between major suppliers and distributors.

Father’s Musical Legacy Overshadowed

Peter Hooton founded The Farm in 1983 and steered the band to mainstream success in the early 1990s as part of the “Madchester” scene.

Their biggest hit, “All Together Now”, reached number three in the UK charts in December 1990 and has since become an enduring football anthem. The song, which used Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D as its foundation, was inspired by the 1914 Christmas truce during World War One.

The band’s debut album “Spartacus” topped the UK Albums Chart in March 1991, selling over a million copies.

Beyond music, Peter Hooton is known as a vocal Liverpool FC supporter and committee member of Spirit of Shankly, the club’s supporters union. He has also been a prominent campaigner for the Hillsborough families and against The Sun newspaper.

The 62-year-old, who holds a degree in economics and public policy, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Edge Hill University in 2015 for his contributions to music and Liverpool culture.

EncroChat Infiltration Proves Criminals’ Downfall

Thomas Hooton’s conviction forms part of Operation Venetic, described as the UK’s biggest ever law enforcement operation against organised crime.

The encrypted EncroChat platform, which criminals believed offered impenetrable security, was infiltrated by French and Dutch authorities in 2020. The hack gave British law enforcement access to millions of messages between criminals discussing drug deals, money laundering and violence.

Since the platform’s compromise, more than 1,000 individuals have been prosecuted across the UK, with courts hearing evidence of industrial-scale drug trafficking, contract killings and firearms offences.

Hooton, like many others, had placed complete faith in the system’s security, freely discussing his criminal activities and leaving digital evidence that would ultimately seal his fate.

Liverpool’s Ongoing Battle Against Organised Crime

The Merseyside Organised Crime Partnership, comprising officers from both the National Crime Agency and Merseyside Police, continues to target high-level drug dealers in the region.

Liverpool has long been recognised as a hub for organised crime groups, with notorious operations like the Huyton Firm dominating headlines in recent years.

The successful prosecution of Thomas Hooton represents another victory in the ongoing battle against drug trafficking networks that cause misery in communities across the UK.

His decade-long sentence serves as a stark warning to others involved in similar criminal enterprises, particularly those who believe encrypted communications offer protection from law enforcement.

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