 He was described as a regional cocaine supplier. He foolishly trusted Encrochat completely. | A photo of drug dealer Leon Atkinson posing in the sunshine proved to be key evidence in helping cops put him away. It was sent to a man named Jason Cox and discovered after cops cracked the encrypted Encrochat network. Atkinson messaged the Cox clan to negotiate buying from them half of £1m worth of cocaine they had stolen from an infamous Liverpool crime mob. A brutal burglary at a Liverpool gang's stash house returned 30kg of cocaine. Atherton was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to supply class A drugs. |  |
 | Atkinson was a target for Manchester cops and a close friend of cop killer Dale Cregan, who is serving life for four murders, including the killings of two police. The 43-year-old was tried alongside Cregan in 2013 accused of killing Mark Short. He dodged conviction. See ----->UK cop killer Dale Cregan |  |
