Drug-dealing trial told of how suppliers use £5 notes to ensure cocaine goes to right buyer

Details of top-level cocaine deals were revealed in the court case of two men accused of being part of a Wolverhampton-based international drug trafficking ring which had a van carrying £1.6 million of cocaine seized by police.

Joshpal Singh Kothiria, 33, of Wolverhampton, and Mohammed Omar Khan, 38, of Birmingham are facing conspiracy charges at Wolverhampton Crown Court after two members of the gang, Anthony Terry, 48, of Crawford Road, Wolverhampton, and Michael Collis already pleaded guilty.

Prosecuting barrister Mr Paul Mitchell read out messages from Encro phones about postcodes and passwords.

"The messages show conversations about post codes, pick-up points, passwords and descriptions of cars.

"Rolex was the password. There were postcodes in Wolverhampton and Leeds. There were also details of Mansfield, Newbury, Cricklewood and Burton-on-Trent.

"When asked 'what car is coming' Khan responded Mercedes. One message said 'I need to get rid of six pieces'."

Paul Todd, from the National Crime Agency, who has been chasing drug traffickers since the 1990s, took the stand on Wednesday to shed light on how major drug deals happened.

Explaining what was happening in the encrypted messages, he said: "Dealers often use passwords and tokens to ensure the commodity which is being handed over is given to the right person, because if they give it to the wrong person then they will be in debt for it."

Drugs are usually given on a "pay later" basis, giving the buyer the chance to sell the contraband to other smaller dealers.

Mr Todd added: "A token is often used as well, which will be two halves of the same £5 note, and the two people doing the deal match the unique serial number on the note."

A picture of half a £5 note was including in the encrypted messages which were made public when the Encrochat network was opened up by Continental law enforcement agencies.

Mr Todd was also shown pictures of parcels of cocaine.

He said: "These are kilos of cocaine. They are wrapped tightly with tape. The word "TOP" is on the package. They are then vacuum sealed, like if you buy meat from the supermarket."

The messages also referred to the dealers wanting "a sample" which was "a gram" of cocaine.

Mr Todd said: "Criminals do not have access to forensic science so they test the purity of cocaine by either getting someone to snort it, which is not very scientific or buy 'washing it up' to make crack cocaine.

"The inpurities are washed out in the process, and they can tell how pure the cocaine is, say if they get half a gram of crack cocaine from a gram of cocaine that means roughly it is 50 per cent pure."

Joshpal Singh Kothiria, of Bader Road, Perton, is accused of an offence of conspiracy to commit crime abroad relating to the export of cannabis. Mohammed Omar Khan, of Chartist Road, Washwood Heath, Birmingham, is accused of an offence of conspiracy to supply cocaine. Both are also accused of transferring criminal property relating to cash.

Prosecutors claim Khan was trusted to pick up and move money round this country and also deliver consignments of cannabis to Ireland, while Kothiria delivered cocaine.

Both Khan and Kothiria deny all charges. The trial continues.