Criminals thought the expensive phones allowed them to deal drugs and commit offences with impunity. But over the past few months, dozens of them have faced justice after the messages they thought were secret became very public.
The EncroChat network, described as 'WhatsApp for criminals', was successfully hacked by law enforcement in France and the Netherlands. Over a three month period in 2020, police were able to access messages sent by EncroChat users and gain a never before seen insight into the activities of the criminal underworld.
The messages were then distributed to police in the UK, who acted on crucial intelligence to lock up those responsible. Some have been convicted on the strength of those messages alone.
