Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for European Affairs of the European Commission, was asked by German MEP Moritz Krner in January 2021 about the percentage of users of EncroChat associated with criminal activities, whether the hacking of communications by the police was on individual users or indiscriminately, and whether the EncroChat system was illegal. In the UK, the NCA said investigators had seized 106 EncroChat mobile handsets during its operation so far and prevented the murder of up to 200 people who were the targets of rival gangs Users paid 1,600 a month for the devices. The Metropolitan Police seized more than 13.4million in cash, 16 firearms, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, 620kg of Class A drugs, and arrested 171 people. 11 Details You May Have Missed in the January 6 Report. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/2nhQGgNLatests news : http://bit.ly/EuronewsTopStoriesFollow us on our thematic channels:NoComment: https://www.youtu. This operation demonstrates that criminals will not get away with using encrypted devices to plot vile crimes under the radar, she said in a statement. Its camera, microphone, and GPS chip could all be removed. He then asked her to take 3kgs of heroin and 1kg of cocaine and pick up a further 4kg of cocaine and move that to another address. He was arrested in the Dominican Republic last month after police monitoring his movements realised he had become aware he was under surveillance and decided to act, according to the report. Lawyers claim investigations are flawed and that the hacked messages should not be used as evidence in court, saying rules around data-sharing were broken and the secrecy of the hacking means suspects havent had fair trials. Was It Legal? Around 60,000 people were signed up to the EncroChat phone network, which was founded in 2016, when it was busted by cops. [33][30] Additionally, 354kg of cocaine were seized by the Eastern unit in Essex and East Anglia, and 233kg by the West Midlands unit. More details? Cerian Griffiths and Adam Jackson, law professors at the UKs Northumbria University who have beenanalyzing EncroChat legal issues, say there is a judicial appetite to use the collected data to convict criminals, but that the correct processes must be followed, as more cases like this may happen in the future. A team of police forces across Europe have infiltrated an encrypted messaging app, called Encrochat, leading to the arrests of more than 700 suspected criminals and the seizure of nearly $100 . On the night of 1213 June 2020, once EncroChat suspected the infiltration by law enforcement had occurred,[2] users received a secret message: Today, we had our domain seized illegally by government entities(s). We have to defend our clients without knowing how the investigators acted, they say. Coordinated by Europol and specialist French investigators, the string of arrests comes two years after French police hacked into the encrypted messaging network, used by thousands of high end criminals to discuss drug deals, money laundering and violence. Law enforcement agencies around the world have increasingly targeted the creators and administrators of encrypted phone companies. Encrypted systems that dont go through a kind of prior declaration, that dont have an authorisation, are considered a crime [in France].. For instance, the UK largely doesnt allow intercepted evidence to be used in court; meanwhile, Germany has a high bar for allowing malware to be installed on a phone. Did you encounter any technical issues? French public prosecutors argue that the distributors were complicit in the activities of organised criminals who had used EncroChat mobile phones for drug sales and money laundering. These services are also already placed in a suspicious corner or are likely to get there, while that suspicion is only based on the use of strong encryption and the protection of ones own privacy., Jessica Shurson, a lecturer in law at the University of Sussex and a former US prosecutor, says the hacking cases should be included in broader debates about the importance of encryption for peoples security. A high ranking member of #calicartel suspected of controlling uk operations has been arrested in Marbella ,Spain. While little is known about how the hacking took place or the type of malware used, 32,477 of EncroChats 66,134 users were impacted in 122 countries,according to court documents. [1], EncroChat devices were particularly popular in Europe, although they were also sold in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. The judge asked the court to make decisions on 14 points about how the data was transferred across Europe andhow it was being used in criminal cases. EncroChat handsets emerged in 2016 . Police raid an undisclosed location in the UK as part of Operation Venetic, a series of raids and house arrests carried out last year after authorities hacked the messaging app Encrochat [File . Authorities from both the Netherlands and Spain established a joint task force aimed at tracking the suspect down. By that time the NCA said that 2,631 people had been arrested in the UK as part of Operation Venetic; 1,384 had been charged, 260 convicted and over five and a half tons of class A drugs, 165 weapons and 75m in criminal cash had been seized. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Technical details on the function of the trojan software and the storage, assignment, and filtering of the data by the French authorities and Europol are not known, amachine-translated version of the court ruling says. [30] Two corrupt law enforcement officers were also arrested as a result of the operation. Fast-forward two years, andthousands of EncroChat users across Europeincluding in the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlandsare in jail. [39] They were arrested for a variety of charges, including conspiracy to supply cocaine. The eight arrests are thought to be the first arrests of people involved in the setting up and running of EncroChat. Ultra Encrypted Text Messaging with No Cellular or Internet Connection. For reasons unknown he was then released. [1][17], A few days later, an "email address long associated with EncroChat" informed Vice Motherboard that the service was shutting down permanently "following several attacks carried out by a foreign organization that seems to originate in the UK"; Cox publicly disclosed excerpts of the email on 22 June. But subsequent legal challenges have spread across Europe. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Consult with our cyber defense advisors at info@DigitalBankVault.com or visit ENCRYGMA.com. READ MORE:Attempted murder suspects named after petrol station shooting. The EAW identifies brothers J.A. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. The place was nicknamed by criminals the "treatment room" or the "ebi", in reference to Extra Beveiligde Inrichting (EBI), a Dutch maximum security prison. More than 1,600 Belgian police officers carried out raids on 200 homes, while Dutch police raided 75 homes, recovering millions of euros in cash, jewellery, luxury vehicles and firearms in March 2021. Brenda Campbell, QC, defending Claire McGlone, and Rebecca Filletti, defending Amy McGlone, said that while the sisters were aware of what they were doing they were operating in an unsophisticated way and using the cash to try to support their families. The attacker and his conspirators fled the scene, while de Vries was rushed to hospital in critical condition. A European Arrest and Surrender Order, issued by the Public Prosecutors Office in Lille, France, accuses three phone resellers of being complicit in a criminal organisation, drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal possession of weapons and cyber crime. Theyre finding ways to access encrypted systems, through hacking, through their own malware, Shurson says. When contacted by VICE World News, Europol said it could not confirm the arrests because they are part of an ongoing operation, and expressed frustration that details of the arrests had been published in French media. The EncroChat Hack Was Hailed as a Major Coup Against Gangsters. Although supplying encrypted phones is legal in Spain, encrypted communication devices that are not used exclusively for identity and access control can only be legally sold with permission from the French government. UK agencies, taken together, have to date arrested 746 suspects and seized 77 guns, two metric tons of drugs, 28 million illicit pills, 55 "high value" cars, and more than 54 million ($67.4. [2][20] EncroChat's website says that the firm had resellers in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Madrid and Dubai, although Cox describes EncroChat as a "highly secretive" firm which "does not operate like a normal technology company". This is a list of notable court cases and arrests that have taken place since Trump's Presidency. Click here: ENCRYGMA.com . Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on+44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or emailjoseph.cox@vice.com. Lpez Oriva affirmed that the lawyer who represents his client in France had not yet had access to his clients case file. By dismantling these groups, we have saved countless lives and protected communities across the UK, he added. According to court documents, actions taken outside France were conducted indivisibly with acts committed in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Hong Kong and Panama from 2017 until 6 July 2021. Operation Venetic the biggest-ever operation of its kind in the UK began in 2016, the NCA said, with international law enforcement agencies targeting EncroChat and sharing intelligence. These are arrests that I feel are unique to this Presidency in that they may not have taken place with past administrations. A new US State Department assessment highlights the stark economic toll of Tehrans recent shutdowns and platform control. The Liverpool Echo reports that, according to 'trusted sources', a drug dealer from West Derby who used EncroChat while working for a feared crime gang has fled to Spain. Meanwhile, Italys Supreme Court has said themethods used to access Sky ECC messages should be disclosed. He died in hospital nine days following the attack. Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here, Amy McGlone, 38, and Claire McGlone, 35, were both jailed at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis. This data was shared between law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation. According to a European Court communication: In accordance with Article 8 of the Convention, the applicants complained of the French authorities intrusion into the encrypted network EncroChat, the access, seizure and copying of their users data and their actions with the UK authorities. He is also accused of committing three crimes punishable by one year in prison supplying, transferring and importing cryptographic devices without prior declaration, as required by French law. U.S. authorities charged him under RICO, a law traditionally reserved for crime bosses. The investigation focused on EncroChat, a communications service used particularly by criminals in the illegal drug trade. The National Crime Agency and police during raid on a property in Birmingham, UK. The main target of the operation, according to the report, was a Canadian suspect called Paul K. [34][35][36] He had used two EncroChat phones, which were not recovered, using the aliases "Satirical" and "Snacker". Now that Krusky has been arrested, Motherboard can add that the EncroChat member who sent the emails was Krusky. The McGlones used their Encrochat-enabled phone, with the handle MoodyAlpha to communicate with their boss, who used the handle secretgold. One court in Finland has already ruled that datagathered by the FBI from Anom couldnt be usedthe severity of the alleged crimes did not justify the way the data was accessed, local reports claimed. Finding ways to access encrypted systems, through their own malware, Shurson says law enforcement agencies around the have... 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