'High level' underworld figures are said to be fleeing before their doors are smashed in by police as detectives revealed 600 Encrochat users are still on the radar in Merseyside.
The heavily encrypted phone network is said by European law enforcement agencies to have been almost entirely used by organised criminals until it was hacked by French police in 2020. The French collaborated with police forces across Europe and detectives gained unprecedented, real-time access into the communications of some of the most successful organised criminals operating in their respective countries.
In the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) launched Operation Venetic in partnership with local police forces to sift through the mountains of evidence they were suddenly able to access. Merseyside Police also set up its own dedicated team as part of the operation.
READ MORE: Darren Gee 'threatened by man with hammer' in bizarre videos
With the intense focus on the police response to organised crime in the wake of the atrocious murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, detectives shared details of how Merseyside is dealing with different types of serious and organised crime.
Detective Chief Superintendent Lee Turner, head of intelligence at Merseyside Police, said at the start of Operation Venetic the force found there were around 800 Encrochat handles active in the Merseyside area.
He said: "We were disproportionately high in Merseyside and we set up a team in order resolve some of those issues and identify some of those handles. They [criminals] were so comfortable with their use of the communication device that they were openly talking about criminality, sending pictures of drug importation and the like between one another."
Of the 800 handles first identified, police are still working to identify the real people behind 600. DCS Turner said: "We have, following getting into those devices, so far arrested 196 people, charged 157; 95 have been convicted and that accounts to over 1,100 years in prison.
"We will continue along that route until we have identified each and every single one of those individuals because they are primarily involved in serious and organised crime."
DCS Turner said as part of the operations linked to Venetic, the force had seized around 109kg of cocaine, 24kg of heroin and "hundreds" of kilos of cannabis. The force has also seized £1.8million in cash, which has been poured back into communities in various charitable projects or initiatives.
Some coverage in the national media around the death of little Olivia suggested that the number of top tier organised criminals taken out by Operation Venetic had led to a potential "power vacuum" on the streets, creating more violence.
When the ECHO asked about that theory, detectives said they had not seen violent power struggles or infighting in Merseyside related to the fallout of Encrochat. DCS Turner explained that there is generally less "instability" among criminal operators at the top tiers of organised criminality as opposed to low level street dealers, who were less likely to use the expensive Encrochat devices.
DCS Turner said: "So it was more an agreement, because that business model was there rather than them fighting amongst themselves. So what we did see was if I didn't have any commodity [drugs] and someone wanted some off me, I would then put them onto my friend, who wasn't really my friend but a competitor, but just to keep that business model working, just so that supply and that demand continued."
DCS Turner said many high level criminals who had been exposed by their use of Encrochat devices had fled abroad to places such as Dubai and Spain "because they know the knock on the door is coming."
Olivia was shot dead on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, at around 10pm on Monday, August 22, when a gunman burst into her home in pursuit of another criminal, 35-year-old Joseph Nee. Olivia's mum, Cheryl Korbel, had heard loud bangs and opened her door to see what was going on, leading to Nee pushing into her home in a desperate bid to escape.
Tragically, the gunman also pushed his way in and fired, hitting Cheryl in the wrist and Olivia in the chest. Nee was also wounded in the leg and torso. So far nine people have been arrested in connection with Olivia's death, but no-one has yet been charged.
On Monday police began a painstaking search of the grounds around West Derby Golf Club after receiving tip-offs the murder weapons may have been concealed there. Those searches continue.
Anyone with information on Olivia's murder is asked to direct message @MerPolCC or call @CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting log 1083 of August 22.
READ NEXT:
Prison officer 'laughed' as police raided her house after affair with inmate
Skip hire owner was at 'top of the tree' of Class A drug trade
Pervert who was 'always looking for little girls' walks free from court
Thug befriended man at pub before robbing him at knifepoint
Doors burned with blowtorch by burglars who broke into homes to steal luxury cars
