A CORRUPT female police worker who tipped off a friend that officers had penetrated their phone network has been jailed.
Natalie Mottram, 25, from Warrington, also bought cannabis from a dealer while working for a specialist police unit, and took selfies at work showing restricted documents.
She was caught when police suspected she was responsible for a leak – and placed her under surveillance.
The police worker, who was based with the North West Regional Crime Unit where she had access to sensitive police intelligence, was found to have tipped off criminals that police had "access" to the EncroChat network – a system that allows encrypted communication.
When police penetrated the encrypted phone network in April 2020, Mottram warned friend Jonathan Kay that they were closing in.
A friend of Kay’s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, messaged another EncroChat user to say he had learned that day that police had hacked the network.
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He messaged a second contact: “I no [sic] a lady who works for the police. This is not hearsay. Direct to me.
"They can access Encro software. And are using to intercept forearms [sic] only at the moment. There [sic] software runs 48 hours behind real time. So have ur burns one day max. And try to avoid giving postcodes over it.”
He added: “Her words was are you on Encro, I said no why, I only sell a bit of bud.
"She said cool just giving you heads up. Because NCA now have access. But she wouldn’t lie.”
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By June 2020, officers at the National Crime Agency (NCA) suspected that Mottram had leaked information about the sensitive probe and placed her under surveillance
They began an investigation and planned a ruse to establish if Mottram was the mole.
On June 12, 2020, her bosses asked her to analyse an intelligence log referring to Kay, who was the partner of Mottram’s close friend Leah Bennett, 38. But the log was bogus.
Mottram left work that afternoon and drove to Kay and Bennett’s house on Newark Drive, Great Sankey, Warrington.
At 5.15pm Kay – who has convictions for driving offences and being drunk and disorderly – arrived home in his car, with Bennett arriving seven minutes later in hers.
The prosecution said this is when Mottram corruptly informed Kay and Bennett about the intelligence log concerning him.
Telecommunications data shows that at 5.26pm Bennett’s phone contacted a phone belonging to the partner of the man who cannot be named.
This was the first time these devices had communicated in two years.
It is believed the call was made to set up a meeting between Kay and the man, because shortly after they met at a supermarket car park.
They talked for 20 minutes before returning to their vehicles and leaving.
Mottram, Kay, Bennett and the man were all arrested later that day and £200,000 in cash was recovered from Kay and Bennett’s house.
She was held as part of Operation Venetic, a NCA investigation tackling communication devices used by criminals.
In August, Mottram admitted misconduct in public office, perverting the course of justice and unauthorised access to computer material.
She was jailed for three years and nine months at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday.
Kay, who admitted perverting the course of justice at an earlier hearing was jailed for 30 months.
John McKeon, head of the NCA’s anti-corruption unit, said: “Operation Venetic is a once in a generation investigation which has made a huge contribution to public protection.
“More than 1,240 offenders have been convicted, more than 173 firearms recovered and more than nine tonnes of heroin and cocaine seized.
“More than 200 threats to life were averted. But Mottram’s actions had the potential to derail all that.
“There is no place for corrupt officers in UK law enforcement and it was vital that this investigation uncovered her betrayal.”
Assistant Chief Constable Jo Edwards, head of the North West ROCU, said: “The overwhelming majority of people who work in policing do so to protect the public from harm, and they devote years of service to that end.
"Sadly, the actions of Natalie Mottram undermine the good work that is being done daily by her colleagues here at the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.
“We expect our officers and staff to uphold the highest standards of professional behaviour, to maintain the trust and confidence of the communities we serve.
"Natalie’s actions fell far below the standards and values we expect.
"She failed in her public duty, I hope her sentence leads her to reflect on her wrong-doing and the impact this has had on victims of organised crime, herself, and her family."
Edwards added: “I’d like to reassure the public that the overwhelming majority of our staff at the NWROCU serve our communities with the utmost integrity and honesty.”
Superintendent Simon Parsonage, Head of Professional Standards at Cheshire Constabulary, said: “I welcome the sentence handed to Mottram and I hope that her conviction provides reassurance to our communities.
"Mottram abused her position by accessing highly sensitive data which she then shared with people outside the organisation.
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“As a result of the partnership work between Cheshire Constabulary, the NCA, ROCU and the IOPC she has now been held accountable for her actions.
"As this case demonstrates nobody is above the law, and I want to reassure the public that we are committed to doing all we can to root out any officers or staff who fail to meet the high standards that the people of Cheshire expect and deserve.”
What is encryption?
Here’s what you need to know…
Encryption is just one way companies can secure data online.
It's used by banks when you access your accounts online and when you're paying for shopping on the web.
It's also used when you send WhatsApp messages.
As you send your message the data is jumbled up, making it unintelligible.
The recipient can read your message – but anyone who might be trying to hack into the system to read what your saying will just see a load of jibberish.
This is done automatically using unique algorithms which scramble and unscramble data returning it to a readable format.
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