International police operations in 2020 successfully hacked EncroChat, an encrypted phone network used by organised crime gangs worldwide. For 74 days, authorities gained access to all messages and pictures exchanged for coordinating drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnap, and murder. The National Crime Agency (NCA) described it as 'the LinkedIn of organised crime'.
The new Channel 4 documentary-drama 'Operation Dark Phone: Murder By Text' reconstructs these intercepted communications. The messages appear on screen as screenplay dialogue, revealing how criminal gangs communicate using coded language: 'sweets' for bullets and 'pineapple' for a grenade. One British gangster, known as Live-long, organised an acid attack while sharing photos of his breakfast.
The NCA typically encounters fewer than 100 explicit threats to life in a year, but after the EncroChat hack, they intercepted over 150 in just six weeks. A 24-hour delay in receiving message data forced agents to work round the clock to protect lives. The documentary highlights the dilemma of safeguarding children near a grenade attack while maintaining operational secrecy.
Criminals on the network used absurd two-word usernames like Mystical-steak, Valued-bridge, and Ball-sniffer. Live-long was eventually identified after sending a triumphant selfie. The show underscores the superficiality and vanity of these offenders, whose constant messaging and boasting led to their downfall.
Produced by the makers of '24 Hours in Police Custody', the four-part series promises further revelations and overdue justice. However, it serves as a stark reminder of the sociopaths among us who hold life cheap and take joy in violence.
