Major crime figures were among over 800 Europe-wide arrests after messages on EncroChat were intercepted and decoded. Peter Heron, 48, of Grosvenor Road in Wavertree. When you've made your choice, press the Save Changes button at the bottom. Begin . Hundreds arrested as crime chat network cracked - BBC News EncroChat, which has now been taken down, was based in France and had an estimated 60,000 subscribers. EncroChat, which offered a secure mobile phone instant messaging service, was a "criminal marketplace" used by 60,000 people worldwide for coordinating the distribution of illicit goods, money . Craig O'Hare - also MagicCider. READ MORE: 'Milliondolla' EncroChat user said he had cocaine 'coming out me ears'. Dooley, 35, of no fixed address but from St Helens, was jailed for nine years after admitting conspiring to supply Class A and B drugs. UK arrests hundreds after EncroChat criminal chatroom cracked READ MORE: Dad who became Encrochat's 'go-to man' for drugs and guns, 49. Philip Dearden, 31, of Kent Road, St Helens, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis. Encrochat users don't use their real names, but false names, known as "handles". He was caught when police recovered text messages from the EncroChat network. READ MORE: Secret gang messages of SnowEmu, SacredMask and MancJoey that brought them down, Jordan Alvis, 35, of Trent Close, West Derby, was sentenced to nine years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply ketamine and heroin and conspiracy to conceal criminal property. On the same day, David Blackburn, 29, was arrested at his home in Springvale Close, Kirkby after detectives linked him to a handle titled "SuperBiking". Simon Roberts, 57, of Circular Drive, Greasby, was sentenced to 10 years and six months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin. 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. He was arrested in April at Stansted Airport as he returned from Spain, where he had stayed for a few weeks. Alan Tobin was sentenced to 20 years in jail and John received a 19 year and eight month sentence following a Cheshire Police probe linked to the seizure of 186kg of cocaine. Officers found handcuffs attached to the floors and ceilings of the structures, which had also been soundproofed. A group of lawyers representing defendants in EncroChat related cases recently published an open letter in which they said their clients have not received fair trials due to the intense secrecy around how French military police carried out the technical operation against EncroChat. Police were able to prove he had supplied six kilos of cocaine and approximately four kilos of cannabis. Named: The 34 people from Greater Manchester charged after 'UK's At the time, Motherboard did not name this EncroChat member due to the risk they faced being deeply involved in an encrypted phone company that ultimately led to the arrests of thousands of alleged organised criminals. Simon Roberts - MajorFox and FanaticFirm. Five of the men also conspired to commit a robbery in which they planned to tie up the victims at their home and cut off the ear of one of them. Users of EncroChat were . Inside the containers was a dentist chair with straps and handcuffs. Police arrest more than 800 in crackdown on EncroChat, encrypted phone Jordan Hughes traded cocaine and heroin with crooks using names of Liverpool FC stars on EncroChat. He used EncroChat under the name of 'Big Tyson'. Police forces first became aware of the EncroChat network in 2016. Michael Devine - LawfulArbor and MixedTree. They revealed how the firm used a shell company in Panama and included an EncroChat member sharing the details of a bank account in Luxembourg with an associate for conducting EncroChat business. Amphetamine marked up with pictures of The Beano character Billy Whizz traded by an EncroChat drug gang based in St Helens, Christopher Dooley, 35, of no fixed address but from St Helens, James Ward, 32, of no fixed address but from Kirkby, Jamie Carlton, 40, of Church Road, Waterloo. The network, said by the authorities to have been a hotbed for gangland plots, was penetrated in a joint French-Dutch probe in April 2020. The single text that sent shockwaves through UK crime - mirror Kevin Daniels handled 1.5m of dirty cash for a drug boss who used the name of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker on EncroChat. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content. Heron was arrested at his home in July this year and admitted conspiring to supply Class A and B drugs and possession of criminal property. According to Dame Cressida Dick, the UK Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Details of the arrests were first published in French newspaper Le Parisien. The dad-of-three was exposed as a "wholesale" drug dealer behind the secret handles "TrustPilot" and "PrawnPilot". In March 2021 Motherboard published details from a cache of emails that showed the shadowy corporate structure behind EncroChat. Bradley Luxton laughed with a fellow drug dealer that they would need 'loads of Skys' - an alternative platform to EncroChat. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 2) Put your email in the box where indicated. When European authorities hacked EncroChat in 2020, after announcing the operation publicly, they asked the owners to come forward because they had been unable to identify them. Police also found a building in Rotterdam, which they believe was another criminal base. READ MORE: EncroChat drug boss panicked after cocaine market 'stood still' during lockdown. Dillon and Keating also admitted conspiracy to transfer a firearm.. Keating was jailed for 22 years and five months; Dillon for 18 years; and Garforth for 15 years. Sean Moore - TrustPilot and PrawnPilot. 14 Encrochat dealers and the nicknames they used to avoid police Police arrested a man, 31, and a 35-year-old woman who had allegedly dealt with $600,000 in criminal proceeds for a Sydney airport ground services operator allegedly trafficking drugs. Something went wrong, please try again later. His Encrochat handle was ToffeeForce and he was identified after sharing an image on his Encro device of a block of cheese in the palm of his hand, from which his fingerprints were analysed. To get a behind the scenes look at how they work and the moments that don't make our stories, subscribe to our free weekly Echo Court Files newsletter, written by court reporter Neil Docking. But detectives swooped on the cocaine, heroin and cannabis dealer as he tried to cross the channel at Folkestone in Kent, on July 20, 2020. Inside top-secret 3k-a-year EncroChat phone system used by UK's Encrochat: 44m of MDMA hidden in digger seized - Arrests in Sydney PARIS The police in Europe said Thursday they had arrested hundreds of people on suspicion of drug trafficking and other crimes after successfully hacking into an encrypted phone . French investigators managed to access Encrochat, an encrypted platform . Thomas Brabbins, 28, of Cherry Tree Road, Huyton, was sentenced to seven years six months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis, possession of cannabis with intent to supply and two counts of possession of criminal property and possession of cannabis. Underworld banker Kevin Allan moved 1m of dirty cash for cocaine and cannabis bosses. As part of Operation Venetic, the UK law enforcement crackdown on EncroChat users, Derrane was arrested in his van in the Tingley area of Leeds on April 22 2020. But when EncroChat was hacked last year, his use of his own children's initials as passwords helped lead detectives to his door. Adam Dalby (Image: Essex Police) Golding was given 12 years in jail, while Thurgood was handed eight for being Golding right-hand man in the criminal network. Alan, formerly of Regency Park, Widnes, was sentenced to a further eight years for conspiracies to cause GBH with intent to both Liam Byrne Jnr and Liam Byrne Snr. British law enforcement officials say they have made their biggest ever breakthrough against organised crime after hacking into an encrypted . READ MORE: EncroChat dealer 'butterflyjuice' jailed for almost a decade. The NCA and European partners shared data from the encrypted communication system EncroChat with the Met Police, which led them to make over 170 arrests and seize 13.4 million pounds in cash . Liam Garvey, 28, of The Boulevard, Thatto Heath, Kevin Allan was the 'money man' for a 1 million EncroChat cocaine conspiracy, Kevin Allan helped cocaine bosses keep track of their thousands of pounds by acting as a gangland banker, David Holgate, 49 and from Anfield, went by the EncroChat handle LoftyWizard and was sentenced to six years and eight months for drugs offences. Shaun Harrison, 33, of South Street, Thatto Heath, was sentenced to 10 years eight months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Lenehan had connections to Dubai and exchanged messages suggesting his influence may have stretched to India and Iran. It is not clear what charges Paul Krusky faces in his role with EncroChat. Mathew Badibanga used the EncroChat nickname "Bagbangboomboom" to make "vast profits" using the encrypted phone service. A series of large-scale law enforcement actions were executed over the past days across 16 countries resulting in more than 700 house searches, more than 800 arrests and the seizure of over 8 tons of cocaine, 22 tons of cannabis and cannabis resin, 2 tons of synthetic drugs (amphetamine and methamphetamine), 6 tons of synthetic drugs precursors, 250 firearms, 55 luxury vehicles and over $48 . Officers seized a gun, ammunition . Dean Deary, 39, of Pinehurst Avenue, Anfield, was sentenced to 12 years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis. READ MORE: EncroChat dealer nicknamed 'coastalsummer' tried to flee naked through window in raid, 31 David Pinnington - LoftyHail and 32. READ MORE: Businessman was drug boss 'FastSilver' flogging Orange Cream, Stardog, Gelato and Jaffa. David Blackburn - SuperBiking. Officers searched his home in St Ambrose Close, Anfield and found an EncroChat phone box, containing the password to the device, written on a piece of paper. Adam Lonergan, 30, of Rydal Avenue in Prescot, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months for conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis between March 29 and June 5 and possession with intent to supply amphetamine. The BBC's Tom Symonds is shown how a customised Android phone with EncroChat installed works, Hundreds arrested as crime chat network cracked, Dutch police start true crime podcast to catch killer, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. Value for money and would buy again. Marsh was linked to the distribution of 25 kilos of cocaine, 110 kilos of cannabis and one kilo of ketamine. Ricardo Hughes - NovaCoast and Christopher Dooley - OctoOx. He was jailed for eight years and 10 months. They both pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply the three drugs. Operation Eternal has been called 'the most significant operation the Met has ever launched against serious and organised crime', Stories from court and the latest breaking crime news sent right to your inbox.
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