Burglary victim from Luton revealed as drug trafficker and sentenced to 8 years in jail

A drug dealer from Luton is facing more than eight years behind bars after police caught him by matching details on an encrypted phone network to a burglary crime report where he was the victim.

In March 2020, 25-year-old Jack Penman was left with serious injuries after burglars forced their way into his home and stole his Audi S3, his phone, an expensive watch and his partner’s Balenciaga trainers. Penman was dragged out of the house and the attackers tried to stuff him in the boot of his car –but they fled when someone who witnessed the incident reported it to the police.

With his phone stolen, Penman known as ‘Paleblade’ took to his Encrochat device and messaged an associate about who was behind the attack. Bedfordshire Police investigators linked details from the Encrochat messages to the crime report on the force’s systems.

Mobile phone data revealed Penman’s Encrochat device was consistently in the same place as his mobile phone before it was stolen. Between March 29 and May 5 2020 Penman sent messages and photos with other Encrochat users and negotiated wholesale prices of cocaine blocks.

In one conversation between Penman and a buyer, he agreed to a price of £19,500 for half a kilo of cocaine Interactions between Penman and convicted drug dealers on the Encrochat platform were also found by Operation Costello teams.

Penman, of Furze Close, Luton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A cocaine. He was sentenced on Thursday, September 14 to eight years and three months and handed a two-year serious crime prevention order to run at the end of his sentence.

The sentencing judge deemed Penman to have a leading role in a drugs conspiracy and said that “drug trafficking was peddling in misery”.

Gary Hales, an investigation officer for Operation Costello, said: “The unacceptable scenes that unfolded during this incident sound like the kind of thing people would only usually watch in an episode of Top Boy.

“Drugs are a dangerous game. No one truly wins, and it affects everyone. Penman was targeted in his home by gang rivals guised as burglars and violently assaulted. He knew them, and they knew him.

He added: “Drugs and violence go hand in hand, and we have seen lives tragically lost to them. The simple truth is that getting involved in drug dealing to this extent leaves you at serious risk of serious harm or spending a significant amount of time behind bars.

“To stop the violence, we must stop the root cause – the drugs. Support us and report drug dealing.”

Anyone with any information can report here or by calling 101.