Ellen Shaw And David Temkin KC Secure Significant Sentences For OCG As Long Running Case Is Concluded.
On Monday 20 October 2025, at Manchester Crown Court, Gregory Bell, was sentenced to 18 years and 9 months for his role in directing the sale and supply of Class A and B controlled drugs across the United Kingdom.
Operating under aliases Bell used encrypted mobile phones, spoofed identities, a network of couriers, safe houses, and criminal associates to distribute drugs on an industrial scale.
The court also saw the sentencing of Bell’s two final criminal associates.
Ian Ogden was jailed for 16 years and 8 months for conspiracy to supply Class A and B and money laundering. Ogden used encrypted aliases and was a criminal who ran his own drug business while also conspiring with Bell to supply drugs, taking charge of the OCG after Bell’s arrest.
Paul Brown was sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs. Brown had fled the UK in 2020 to avoid prosecution but was arrested in Spain in 2024 following an extensive international manhunt and extradited back to the UK.
Bell, Ogden and Brown join six fellow members of the Organised Crime Group behind bars, after they were sentenced on 13 July 2023.
The case came about after a national policing effort, with GMP working closely with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and other regional forces as part of Operation Venetic – the UK’s response to the EncroChat takedown.
This case involved complex admissibility arguments about the use of the EncroChat evidence. Ellen conducted the trial for the only defendant to contest the charges as solely instructed counsel.
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