How EncroChat crackdown uncovered Kerri Pegg's affair

Kerri Pegg was considered a rising star of the prison service after a career change - but is now starting a nine year sentence.

Pegg, who had spent eight years as a probation officer, was convicted of misconduct in public office and possession of criminal property for her affair with drug dealer Anthony Saunderson.

She rose through the ranks quickly after joining as a graduate in 2012, and by April 2018 was in the top job at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire.

But behind the scenes, it is now evident Pegg was struggling financially - with four "maxed out" credit cards and 6p in her savings account.

Even before her move to the top job, her previous boss at HMP Liverpool had pulled her up on undeclared County Court Judgments (CCJ) - which are considered a corruption risk.

But in her office in Kirkham far more serious conflict of interests was beginning to develop.

Already serving his sentence was Anthony Saunderson, a career criminal from Liverpool convicted of his involvement in smuggling cocaine in shipments of corned beef from Argentina.

Pegg's trial in Preston Crown Court had heard there were concerns over Pegg's relationship to Saunderson from early on in her tenure at HMP Kirkham.

The "bubbly" and "chatty" prison governor would spend significant periods in her office with Saunderson - with the door closed.

Whether or not Saunderson was using Pegg or their relationship was genuine - his time with her appeared to pay off in October 2018 when she approved an application for his early release on temporary licence - despite not having the authority to do so.

With Saunderson a free man, they continued to spend time together on the outside.

In court, Pegg said at the time she was responsible for delivering the drug strategy for six jails in the north-west of England.

Saunderson, meanwhile, was developing and delivering a programme called Beating Alcohol and Drug Dependency (BADD) for inmates at several prisons.

Therefore, so she told the jury, their relationship was based on professional interests which she claimed was why they stayed in touch.

However Saunderson had not given up his criminal interests and in 2022 he was back in police custody - charged with being involved in an enormous injectable amphetamine production plot based out of premises in Sealand in Flintshire, north Wales.

His downfall, like hundreds of other serious criminals in the UK, had been his trust in the Encrochat encrypted phone network - which was believed to be impenetrable.

However after its servers were hacked in 2019, police across Europe could follow the messages of its users in real-time exposing a treasure-trove of evidence on organised criminals.

Saunderson, it later emerged, was the man behind the Encrochat handles Jesse Pinkman - a reference to the meth dealer in the Breaking Bad television series - and James Gandolfini, the acclaimed actor who played Mafia boss Tony Soprano.

He received a 31-year prison sentence in August 2022 for producing and dealing amphetamines as well as trafficking heroin, cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, MCAT and diazepam - plus firearms charges.

But on top of his drugs business, detectives found concerning references to his relationship with Pegg.

Messages between his fellow drug traffickers expressed concerns about how much time he was spending with her away from "business".

That investigation also revealed she had accepted a £12,000 Mercedes car as a gift from Saunderson, which North Wales Police found had been paid for with 34kg of amphetamines.

With enough to arrest Pegg, detectives raided her home in Wigan, Greater Manchester, and found further increasingly damning evidence.

A pair of men's size 10 Hugo Boss flip-flops, clearly not the footwear of the Pegg, and a toothbrush were both tested and DNA profiles matching Saunderson were present.

Pegg denied any inappropriate relationship with Saunderson in court, and said the only explanation she had for the presence of Saunderson's DNA in her flat was the fact she sometimes took her toothbrush with her to prison.

The jury at Preston Crown Court did not believe her.

On 8 April she was convicted of two counts of misconduct in a public office relating to her relationship with Saunderson and her failure to disclose her debts.

She was also found guilty of possession of criminal property, in relation to the Mercedes she accepted from Saunderson.

Judge Graham Knowles KC remanded her in custody ahead of her sentencing and told her: "I have no choice but to send you to prison due to the gravity of your offending."

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