On Tuesday, Europol reported more than 6,500 arrests and 900 million euros ($980 million) in seized assets after the shutdown of Encrochat, an underground company that offered criminals encrypted conversations.
The system abruptly shut down in June 2020 with an estimated 60,000 subscribers, and Europol announced the following month that law enforcement had been eavesdropping on users’ messages for months.
Europol released its initial summary of the takedown on Tuesday, saying it had “sent shockwaves across organised crime groups in Europe and beyond”.
Europol stated police analyzed over 115 million “criminal conversations” to avoid “violent attacks, attempted murders, corruption and large-scale drugs transports.”
The government said the operation has resulted in the recovery of 100 tonnes of cocaine, 30 million pills of “chemical drugs,” roughly 1,000 vehicles, hundreds of homes, and dozens of boats and planes.
The police statement didn’t say if Encrochat’s owners were arrested.
French and Dutch authorities planned a press conference in Lille later Tuesday.
French, Dutch, British, and German police released partial Encrochat-related investigation conclusions in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Encrochat sells modified Android phones for roughly 1,000 euros and charges consumers high membership fees to encrypt their communications.
After its anonymous operators realized they were compromised, it shut down unexpectedly in June 2020.
Europol said the business routed encrypted conversations through French servers.
“Eventually, it was possible to place a technical device to go beyond the encryption technique and obtain access to users’ correspondence,” Europol stated Tuesday.
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