HOW IT WORKS
UP to 10,000 UK residents – many of them organised criminals – were among the 60,000 subscribers to Francebased EncroChat, which has now been shut down.
Criminals needed an Android phone to get set up and administrators promised their messages would effectively disintegrate after sending.
A panic wipe facility allowed for all data on a device to be deleted by entering a four-digit code from the lock-screen. That would allow vital evidence to be destroyed even as police were breaking down doors.
The platform formed a “criminal marketplace” to co-ordinate the supply of Class A drugs, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, shotguns, pistols and hand grenades.
The code was cracked in March and the flow of data to police started in April, with even the most hardened detectives astonished at the unguarded descriptions of murder plots, money laundering and drug deals.
Threats to life detailed on the site included acid attacks and threats to chop off limbs.
EncroChat sold encrypted phones with a guarantee of anonymity and a range of special features to remove identifying information. The phones themselves cost roughly £900 each, with a subscription costing £1350 for six months.
Europol said French police had discovered some of EncroChat’s servers were located in the country, and that it was possible to put a “technical device” in place to access the messages.
In June, rumours began to swirl about EncroChat being compromised by law enforcement, leading to a mass dumping of the handsets by crooks, including those in Scotland.
But police had already intercepted millions of messages, some of which have been acted on already.
timeline
MAY 28, 2020
65kg of cocaine recovered from lorry at Hamilton services. Man of 53 arrested, charged and appeared in court.
MAY 19, 2020
Officers stopped car and van on A74 near Ecclefechan and recovered 59kg of cocaine and £750,000 cash. Three men, of 38, 41 and 56, were arrested and charged and appeared in court.
MAY 16, 2020
Man, 37, arrested and charged after car he was in was stopped and 5kg of herbal cannabis worth about £50,000 recovered.
MAY 11, 2020
Officers stopped vehicle on A74(M) near Johnstonebridge and arrested man, 29, after cannabis with an estimated street value of £100,000 was found in the vehicle.
MAY 9, 2020
Vehicle stopped on A74(M) near Moffat and officers recovered £200,000 worth of drugs, thought to be cannabis. A 35-year-old man was arrested and charged.
APRIL 23, 2020
Cannabis, worth £80,000, found after vehicle stopped on A74(M) near Lockerbie. Man, 27, has been reported to the fiscal.
APRIL 20, 2020
About 40kg of cocaine recovered after van stopped on M74 near Lesmahagow. Two men, aged 20 and 34, arrested and charged.