When French feds cracked the EncroChat code, Scotland’s biggest players got a rude awakening. 'Big Poppa'—real name Darren Collin, 29—was one of them. Stopped on Fulton Street in Glasgow, he tried to send a quick message: "Been caught". But it was too late.
Collin slipped his V-Smart phone into a secret compartment in his Citroen Berlingo van and sealed it up. Cops weren’t fooled for long. They found the stash, along with heroin, cocaine, cash, and bulking agents worth over £1.3m 💰. The encrypted phone was the smoking gun, linking Collin to his 'Big Poppa' moniker and a network of dodgy contacts.
Prosecutor Chris McKenna laid it out: “The device had hundreds of messages about drug deals and money transfers, plus images of white blocks—likely cocaine—and stacks of cash. It all added up to a major bust.” Collin pleaded guilty and got eight years, plus a Serious Crime Prevention Order for good measure.