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IAP Members Cooperate in Landmark Criminal Case

7/3/2020

The French and Dutch Prosecution Services, along with EUROJUST, cooperate to uncover a massive network of encrypted criminal communications known as EncroChat. 


The Hague, The Netherlands, July 2nd 2020 – The French and Dutch Prosecution Services, along with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (EUROJUST), all three IAP members, worked together in a Joint Investigation Team on one of the largest criminal investigations to date. For months investigators tracked communications on EncroChat, an encrypted phone network widely used by criminal networks, unbeknown to the criminals using the encrypted network. Investigators were able to intercept tens of thousands of messages, analyse them and render them available to police and prosecution services in several countries. This operation led to the arrest of over one hundred criminals, and prevented the execution of several murders, kidnappings and even torture. Furthermore, the investigation led to the seizing of over 70 million Euros, in addition to tons of firearms and narcotics.

The aftermath of the investigation is expected to be hefty: the amount of information uncovered is so great that investigators and prosecutors will need several years to set up criminal investigations and prosecutions based on the intercepted information.

To read more, please consult the EUROJUST press release on the case.