Max Matthews jailed for 12 years over £5m drug trafficking ring

A Hackney man who led a major drug trafficking operation has been jailed for more than 12 years after being extradited from Dubai. Max Matthews, 31, of Albion Drive, was sentenced at an undisclosed court on 6 August 2026 for conspiring to supply Class A and B drugs and money laundering.

Matthews fled the UK in July 2021 while on police bail. He was tracked down in Dubai and returned to the UK in February 2026. The case was part of Operation Venetic, a national investigation into the EncroChat encrypted messaging platform used by organised crime groups.

Scale of the operation

Essex Police said the investigation revealed Matthews was at the top of a criminal network responsible for trafficking 74 kilograms of cocaine, 12.5 kilograms of heroin and 50 kilograms of cannabis. The group laundered more than £5 million in criminal proceeds between March and July 2020.

Detective Inspector Frazer Low of Essex Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit said the evidence from EncroChat provided an unprecedented insight into the group’s activities. He said the case demonstrated that fleeing overseas would not allow criminals to evade justice.

What happens next

Matthews will serve his 12-year and six-month sentence in a UK prison. Essex Police said it would continue to pursue organised crime groups using all available evidence. No further court dates have been set in relation to this case.

The National Crime Agency, which led Operation Venetic, has not commented on whether further arrests are expected. The investigation into EncroChat has already resulted in hundreds of convictions across the UK.