AMSTERDAM, June 27 (Reuters) – European policing agency Europol said on Tuesday that the takedown of Encrochat, an underground company that offered criminals supposedly secure encrypted communications, led to more than 6,500 arrests and 900 million euros ($980 million) in seized assets.
The system had an estimated 60,000 users when it shut down abruptly in June 2020, and Europol revealed the following month that law enforcement officials had been intercepting users’ communications for months.
In a statement on Tuesday, Europol offered its first overview of the results of the takedown, which it said had “sent shockwaves across organised crime groups in Europe and beyond”.
Police have analysed more than 115 million “criminal conversations”, Europol said, helping prevent “violent attacks, attempted murders, corruption and large scale drugs transports.”
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/encrypted-phone-service-encrochat-shutdown-leads-6500-arrests-europol-2023-06-27/
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