SWLSdrugs – by Josh Bolton
A dad who used the nickname ‘Insane Snail’ while acting as a middleman in drug deals has been jailed.
Michael Hall, from Bromley, south-east London, was involved in the supply of more than 20kg worth of drugs between January and June 2020, a court heard.
The 60-year-old, who has been jailed for drug-related offences twice before, used his contacts to help distribute cocaine, amphetamine, ketamine, and cannabis as part of a large-scale commercial operation, it was said.
Yesterday (February 5), during his sentencing at Croydon Crown Court, Hall was jailed for seven years and nine months.
The dad-of-three’s crimes were uncovered when French and Dutch police infiltrated Encrochat, an encrypted messaging service often used by criminals to facilitate the sale of drugs and firearms.
Hall’s messages were passed to the Met Police – revealing his involvement in the supply of 5kg of cocaine, 2kg of amphetamines, 6.5kg of ketamine, and 8kg of cannabis.
A further 6kg of ketamine was discussed but not supplied.
The court heard that Hall has been jailed twice before for drug-related offences – for two years in 1997 and eight years in 2011 for his involvement in the supply of cannabis.
The time round, the Londoner, who Prosecutor Thom Dyke described Hall as “not a newcomer to the world of large-scale drugs conspiracies”, used his connections and contacts in the trade to act as a middleman in various deals.
Acting under the pseudonym ‘Insane Snail’ on Encrochat, Hall conversed with the likes of Jack Tahir, from Beckenham, southeast London, who in 2021 was jailed for a decade for distributing more than a million pounds worth of drugs.
Tahir went by the pseudonyms Narrowrifle and Midland Buck on Encrochat, and was linked to the distribution of drugs across the southeast of England.
Hall was arrested at his home in July 2024 and later admitted four drugs offences.
His defence told the court that in 2019, he was ordered to pay a confiscation order to remove the financial benefits of his previous crimes.
Facing the loss of his home, Hall turned to the drug trade again.
But Recorder Stanley Reiz KC, sentencing Hall, said: “You made your choices, whatever your reasons, and you must accept the punishment.”
ENDS
