An ex-footballer has been jailed after police unmasked him as a major drug dealer through a careless EncroChat password mistake.
Francis Ventre, once a defender for Barrow AFC, was identified after investigators cracked encrypted messages linked to organised crime.
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The 63-year-old used an EncroChat phone to coordinate cocaine and ketamine distribution across Liverpool during 2020, authorities confirmed.
International law enforcement later infiltrated the platform, giving officers access to messages criminals believed were completely secure.
Ventre operated under the alias “Dillforest,” but used his former club’s name, “barrow,” as a password on the device.
Password blunder exposes criminal network
That single error helped officers connect personal details, messages, and photographs directly to Ventre, collapsing his attempted anonymity entirely.
Police discovered he shared his birthday, postcode, relatives’ details, and images of drugs while arranging deliveries and payments.
The National Crime Agency said Ventre played a leading role in supplying cocaine and large quantities of ketamine.
Investigators established he supplied one kilogram of cocaine and sixty-three kilograms of ketamine worth nearly £500,000 total.
Ventre was arrested in November and later admitted conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering offences in court, reports Daily Mail.
He received a nine-year prison sentence at Liverpool Crown Court following guilty pleas in December 2025.
The NCA praised investigators, noting their work ensured Ventre was imprisoned rather than continuing to profit from harmful drug trade.
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