Guns and drugs seized in Yorkshire after police crack crime chat network

Ten firearms and more than 100kg of cocaine were also seized in the county after the National Crime Agency (NCA) intercepted and decoded messages on EncroChat, an encrypted global communication service used exclusively by criminals.

Seven EncroChat devices were seized in Yorkshire.

The NCA says the Europe-wide operation, which lasted over three months and involved police forces across the UK, has had the biggest impact on organised crime gangs it has ever seen.

Officers are said to have prevented people being murdered by secretly monitoring planned attacks on the service.

The NCA has been working with international law enforcement agencies to target EncroChat since 2016.

Two months ago police in France and the Netherlands infiltrated the platform. The data harvested was shared via Europol.

The police have been monitoring their every move since then under Operation Venetic – the UK law enforcement response.

The EncroChat servers have now been shut down.

Yorkshire case studies

As part of Operation Replay-Mike, officers stopped a motor vehicle travelling in Sheffield on May 6 this year.

The 36-year-old driver was arrested and tw suitcases that contained £1.1 million were found in his vehicle.

His home address was searched and an additional £150,000, two counting machines and mobile phones were seized.

He was charged with money laundering, among other offences, and was remanded into custody.