EncroChat Gang Hired Hitman Who Was Jailed Aged 14 for Killing, Trial Told

LONDON—A drugs gang who used the encrypted phone network EncroChat hired a hitman who had been convicted of killing a teenager when he was just 14 and agreed to pay him £50,000 to kill a target, a trial at the Old Bailey has heard. Michael Ematuwo—who was jailed for six years for manslaughter in 2009—denies conspiracy to murder a “person unknown” between May and June 2020. Mr. Ematuwo, 28, appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, alongside Jimmy Gottshalk, 36, Calvin Crump, 28, and Peter Thompson, 60. Mr. Gottshalk and Mr. Crump deny conspiracy to murder and Mr. Gottshalk denies conspiracy to evade a prohibition on the importation of cocaine and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs....