Security News > 2020 > July > European Police Shut Criminal Phone Network Used to Plan Murders
Police said Thursday they had shut down an encrypted phone network used as a key tool by organised crime groups across Europe to plot assassination attempts and major drug deals.
French and Dutch police said they hacked the EncroChat network so they could read millions of messages "Over the shoulders" of criminal suspects as they communicated, leading to more than 100 arrests.
The hack allowed police to "Look into the heart" of organised crime groups, Wil van Gemert, Deputy Executive Director of the EU police agency Europol, told a press conference in The Hague.
Dutch police then became involved based on information shared by French police.
Dutch police had busted 19 meth labs, seized thousands of kilos of crystal meth and cocaine, and arrested more than 100 people as a result of the hack, Andy Kraag, head of the police central investigations division, told the press conference.