PHONE FLAW

Drug empire of gang boss who terrorised west of Ireland in ruins after investigators crack encrypted phone

Officers uncovered over 30,000 messages, videos and voice notes linked to his organised crime network

• Published: 22:34, 31 Oct 2023
• Updated: 23:02, 31 Oct 2023

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THIS is the encrypted phone that was used to run a drugs empire by mob boss Barry Young.

But Young’s crime network across the west of Ireland is now in ruins after investigators from Sligo Garda station gained access to the device.

Once seized, officers uncovered over 30,000 messages, videos and voice notes linked to his organised crime network.

Every message was analysed and attempts made to link the numbers to other criminals.

Detectives were able to identify some of the numbers because they had been used to ring the Garda station when suspects were on bail.

Following the seizure, gardai made 16 arrests and also examined the location of the phones at the time drug seizures were made.

They also established how Young’s sidekicks reported back to him when they were collecting cash drug debts. 

On one occasion, they sent images to Young of a house that had been damaged over an unpaid debt.

Officers later established how the images were identical to the crime scene pictures.

Other instructions included Young being informed how one of his associates had been caught with drugs in Mayo.

Over the course of the Garda investigation, cops recovered over €628,000 worth of drugs linked to his gang.

And when cops received intelligence that Young was on a plane at Dublin airport he was lifted on January 11, 2022.

Officers also received a boost when they recovered another mobile phone also containing WhatsApp messages and voice notes about drugs transactions.

Young – who was linked to hitman Robbie Lawlor and Mark ‘The Guinea Pig’ Desmond – is now serving an eleven year sentence for directing a criminal organisation 2019 and 2022.

Young had previously served a six-year sentence in 2006 for drug dealing and became a major target for the Gardai in 2019 due to his position as leader of his gang.

GANGSTER ADVICE

Earlier this year we revealed how Young took advice from mobster John Gilligan before the collapse of his empire.

The gangster met with Gilligan in 2017 as his gang swamped the west of Ireland with lethal batches of drugs.

One investigator told us: “Gilligan was an associate of Young’s and the pair often met in Alicante.

“The fact he was dealing with Gilligan and other international players in Spain shows that he was ­operating at a high level.

“They smuggled drugs into the country through plant machinery. Young was making a lot of money but was not flashing it everywhere.

“He was extremely clever and only used his enforcers as a last resort. There is a Barry Young in every county in Ireland.”