Investigations that began after encrypted phones were broken three years ago they drove so far in more than 6.500 arrests worldwide and the seizure of hundreds of tons of drugs, French and Dutch European Union prosecutors said on Tuesday.
The authorities' announcement highlights the staggering scale of crime – mainly drug and arms smuggling and money laundering – uncovered by surveillance of criminals using encrypted phones EncroChat.
“Αυτό βοήθησε στο να αποτραπούν βίαιες επιθέσεις, απόπειρες δολοφονίας, διαφθοράς και μεταφοράς ναρκωτικών μεγάλης κλίμακας, καθώς και να ληφθούν πάρα πολλές πληροφορίες για το οργανωμένο έγκλημα”, αναφέρουν σε μια ανακοίνωσή τους οι αστυνομικές και δικαστικές υπηρεσίες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης europol και Eurojust.
French and Dutch authorities were able to access more than 115 million encrypted communications between about 60.000 criminals, prosecutors said in pluspress release.
As a result, 6.558 suspects have been arrested worldwide, including 197 “high value targets”. The drugs seized included 30,5 million pills, 103,5 metric tons (114 tons) of cocaine, 163,4 metric tons (180 tons) of cannabis, and 3,3 metric tons (3,6 tons) of heroin.
The investigations also led to the recovery of nearly €740 million in cash and the freezing of assets or bank accounts worth another €154 million.
