Man is charged as police crack code

A HASLINGDEN man has been charged in relation to money laundering and drug supply offences after an encrypted phone network exclusively used by criminals was cracked by police.

Nearly 800 people across the UK were arrested after French authorities hacked the EncroChat platform.

Four Lancashire men have been arrested in relation to activity in Greater Manchester.

Across the area, £1.7 million in cash, six firearms, 15kg of cocaine, 2kg of heroin, 2kg of cannabis, 70kg of amphetamines, and 500,000 ecstasy tablets have been seized.

And across the country, some £54 million in cash and 77 firearms have been confiscated by the police alongside two further tonnes of drugs.

Ian Ogden, 31, of Helmshore Road, Haslingden has been charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and conspiracy to supply Class B drugs. Thirty further people from across Greater Manchester have been charged by Greater Manchester Police.