A cocaine dealer recorded more than £1 million of deals in a ledger and boasted about his exploits on WhatsApp.

Jack Tahir came to the attention of detectives after they cracked the Encrochat encrypted phone system, used by thousands of criminals across the globe.

Using the pseudonyms Narrowlife and Midland Buck Tahir, then 19, supplied Class As across the south east.

Messages also linked him to the supply of ketamine, cannabis and amphetamines.

In one, sent on WhatsApp to a customer, Tahir played on the Clap for Carers event, saying: "Just heard, there will be an applause between 4 and 5 tomorrow for all the drug dealers going out there and meeting people risking their life's [sic] to keep people happy & high #pleaseshare #theninebar."

The 20-year-old, of St James Avenue, Beckenham, kept records of every deal he made over the period and regularly shared it with his supplier.

Analysis of the ledger showed the total amount of cocaine sold by Tahir was £1,146,000 over a three-month period, amounting to around 30 kilos.

On Thursday, April 15, a raid was carried out at his home.

During the search two Rolex watches, valued at £31,450 and £11,850 respectively, were found in his bedroom.

Photos of the watches had appeared on his Encrochat device, as had a picture of blocks of cocaine pictured in a wheelbarrow.

On Friday at Croydon Crown Court Tahir was jailed for 10 years after admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was also sentenced to two years and eight months for conspiracy to supply amphetamine; five years and four months for conspiracy to supply cannabis; three years for conspiracy to supply ketamine and two years for money laundering, all to run at the same time as the 10-year stretch.

Detective Constable Imran Hansraj, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “Jack Tahir was part of a sophisticated network responsible for the importation and onward distribution of drugs into the UK.

“Despite taking full responsibility for his actions, these were serious offences and Tahir will spend some of the best years of his life in prison.

"The drugs trade continues to fuel violence and exploitation on the streets of London and we remain committed to protecting the public.”

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