Europol confirmed on Tuesday June 27 that the dismantling of the powerful EncroChat organization in 2020 led to the arrest of more than 6,500 people, in addition to the seizure of 900 million euros.
The figures, monsters, testify to the extent of EncroChat. Under investigation in 2018 by the French and Dutch authorities, the criminal network used hardware and especially encrypted software to avoid the tracking of communications, and had taken on an international stature. Following investigations supported by Europol, it was dismantled in 2020. Since then, the French and Batavian judicial and law enforcement authorities, as well as Europol and Eurojust, have relentlessly tracked down those involved in this network. A first assessment, muscular, was made on Tuesday.
The EncroChat network, a crime 2.0 giant
EncroChat had developed a whole criminal economy by offering phones offering complete anonymity, exempt from traceability, which could automatically delete messages and on which it was possible to erase all data using a simple PIN code. . Practical, in the case of an arrest where every second counts.
The information contained in the device in question could also be erased remotely, through real human support (reachable 24/7) or a reseller. The mobiles were sold at 1,000 euros each, all over the world, with subscriptions that offered planetary coverage against 1,500 euros for a period of six months.
To date, 6,558 arrests have been totaled worldwide, directly linked to EncroChat. 197 of those apprehended were qualified as “ high value targets by Europol, which explains that the investigation made it possible to seize or freeze nearly 900 million euros in criminal funds.
Hundreds of assassination attempts aborted thanks to the work of the authorities
In 2020, the dismantling of EncroChat dealt a major blow to international crime, thanks to the 115 million conversations analyzed and 60,000 criminals spied on. He helped abort hundreds of violent attacks and attempted murders. Drug transport, corruption and money laundering activities have also been affected. Many criminal organizations around the globe have been using EncroChat encryption tools for several years.
A few years ago, the company behind EuroChat operated using servers used in France. Over time, the authorities managed to go beyond the technique of encryption and gain access to users’ conversations.
A total of 7,134 years of imprisonment of criminals have been distributed since the dismantling. 30 million tablets of chemical drugs, 103 tons of cocaine, 163 tons of cannabis, 971 vehicles, 271 properties or houses, 923 weapons, 83 boats and 40 planes were also seized.
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