A MAN who killed an off-duty police officer a decade ago has admitted being part of an organised crime group (OCG) and laundering up to £13m following his release from prison.
Timmy Donovan, 40, was sentenced to six years and 10 months in 2015 after being convicted of the manslaughter of Merseyside Police Constable Neil Doyle, 36.
During a night out with colleagues in Liverpool on December 19, 2014, PC Doyle sustained a fatal punch that ruptured his vertebral artery and led to bleeding on the brain.
Neither Donovan nor his co-defendant admitted throwing the punch and both were released in 2018 after serving just three years..
This month, Donovan admitted conspiracy to supply 23.7kg of cocaine and 1kg of heroin and laundering money of between £10-£13m.
"Donovan is a dangerous individual who returned to criminality as soon as he left prison," said Gary Cathcart, Head of Financial Investigation at the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Spreadsheet
After he was released on licence, Donovan joined forces with five other offenders who variously dealt drugs and laundered the proceeds.
His OCG was identified by NCA officers working on Operation Venetic, aimed at taking down the encrypted communications platform EncroChat.
On the platform, Donovan, of Walsingham Road, Liverpool, was known by the handle 'Astralcleaner'.
He played a key role in the supply of Class A drugs and co-ordinated the collection, storage and laundering of the OCG's money — between £10m and £13m — in cash through third-party business accounts.
Almost every single door in his house was specially reinforced when NCA officers arrested him.
A digital review of his devices revealed images of a spreadsheet detailing money owed by and to him, as well as messages indicating the scale of the cash collection.
These included '3,424,000 owed in eng' and '934000 all got it now to come off bill'.
Another, reading '200 + 9 for 4.5%', was a reference to a delivery of £200,000, plus a £9,000 commission of 4.5 per cent.
NCA officers discovered EncroChat conversations and images revealing that Donovan had also played a significant role in the supply of Class A drugs to Britain.
In discussions with other organised criminals, he asked for 'any news on far ones' (container ships transporting cocaine) and haggled over the price of 'botts' and 'tops' — references to kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine.
OCG members
Several other men also admitted their roles in the OCG this month.
On the eve of his trial on Tuesday, 41-year-old Christopher Roper, the final OCG member, pleaded guilty to money laundering.
Roper, of Allerton Road, Liverpool, would often store criminal cash where he worked at a well-known garage, the Wavertree Car Centre.
Roper was also on EncroChat as 'sentientwolf' and would use the platform to arrange the transfers of cash, for which he sometimes received a 4.5 per cent fee.
James Vaughan, 38, of Green Lane, Liverpool, was previously on the NCA's Most Wanted fugitives list.
He was arrested in 2020 and officers found more than £2,000 at his home along with two Rolex watches, a Bulgari watch and packaging for a cash counting machine.
Vaughan fled to Spain where he was eventually traced and arrested before being extradited last year.
Evidence showed that Donovan would have cash delivered to Roper, who would arrange the payment of it into third-party business accounts.
Vaughan, who used the handle ‘lameregent’, was then enlisted to receive, count, package and store the cash.
The money was then transported to Roper by 59-year-old Kenneth Kean, of Huyton House Road, Liverpool, and 56-year-old Paul Duncan, of Gentwood Road, Liverpool.
Arron O'Sullivan, 41, of Deepfield Drive, Liverpool, operated as 'filthyburrito' and 'amplebee' on EncroChat and supplied drugs for the OCG.
All six are due to be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, February 3.
See More: Liverpool, National Crime Agency
