A drug importer known as "Weary Dog" spent nearly two years on the run but was caught after a car crash in Spain.
But Lam appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court in December 2022 after being extradited back to the UK. James Rae, prosecuting on this occasion, described how he had been detained on an international arrest warrant in the early hours of November 6 the same year. Some of the cash was also converted into Bitcoin. The scam was initially reported by Jet2, the firm having seen more than 20 flights booked online without the knowledge of the legitimate card holder between May and September 2016 - totalling more than £21,000.
Sentencing, Judge Louise Brandon said: "What you did was a deliberate attempt to delay justice. You have a history of breaching court orders. The dad-of-two was said to have "started out as a junior partner" in the smuggling of drugs from Spain, but went on to arrange shipments amounting to hundreds of kilos using contacts in Central Europe. Lam has a total of eight previous convictions for 14 offences.
Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall said: "It is clear that you were dealing in multi kilogram quantities of cocaine, diamorphine and cannabis. You conducted business with multiple other EncroChat users and drug dealers.