Current timestamp: 07/02/2023 05:22:34
AgeAlertAnonymousAppealsApplicationsApply Or RegisterArea OutlineArrow DownArrow LeftArrow RightArrow UpAutomatic DoorsBack ArrowBusinessCalendarCashArrow DownArrow LeftArrow RightArrow Down[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-chrome' for 'English (United Kingdom)']ClockCloseContactDirectionsDocumentDownloadDrawDrugExpandExternal LinkFacebookFb CommentFb LikeFiletype DefaultFiletype DocFiletype PdfFiletype PptFiletype XlsFinance[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-firefox' for 'English (United Kingdom)']First AidFlickrFraudGive FeedbackGlobeGuide DogHealthHearing ImpairedInduction LoopInfoInstagramIntercom[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-internet-explorer' for 'English (United Kingdom)']LaptopLiftLinkedinLocal ActivityLoudspeakerLow CounterMailMapMap PinMembershipMenuMenu 2[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-microsoft-edge' for 'English (United Kingdom)']Missing PeopleMobility ImpairmentNationalityNorth PointerOne Mile RadiusOverviewPagesPaper PlaneParkingPdfPhonePinterestPlayPushchairRefreshReportRequestRestart[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-rotate-clockwise' for 'English (United Kingdom)']Rss[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-safari' for 'English (United Kingdom)']SearchShareSign LanguageSnapchatStart AgainStatsStats And Prevention AdviceStopSubscribeTargetTattosTell Us AboutTickTumblrTwenty Four HoursTwitterTwitter LikeTwitter ReplyTwitter RetweetUploadVisually ImpairedWhatsappWheelchairWheelchair AssistedWheelchair ParkingWheelchair RampWheelchair WcYoutubeZoom InZoom Out

Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site

Skip to main content

Skip to main navigation

Welcome

This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.

Show me the site

warwickshire-logo

Search this website

Main navigation menu

  • Report

    Back to Report

    • Crime
    • Road traffic incident
    • Report antisocial behaviour
    • Missing person
    • Fraud
    • Civil disputes
    • Lost or found property
    • Lost or stolen vehicles
  • Tell us about

    Back to Tell us about

    • Tell us about possible terrorist activity
    • How to tell us about something you've seen or heard
    • An existing case or report
    • A procession or event you are planning
    • Filming
    • Abnormal vehicle load
  • Apply or register

    Back to Apply or register

    • Careers
    • Charity collection licences
    • Compensation for victims of crime
    • Firearm, shotgun or explosives certificate
    • Attend a misconduct hearing
  • Request

    Back to Request

    • A collision report
    • Intellectual property (IP) licence
    • Your fingerprints
    • Information: about the police, about yourself or someone else
  • Thanks and complaints

    Back to Thanks and complaints

    • Complaints
    • Say thanks
    • Feedback about the website
  • Your area

Breadcrumb

  1. ...
  2. News

West Midlands police forces help UK’s biggest law enforcement operation

Main article content

Navigation

Latest

12:09 02/07/2020

Over £7m cash and more than 200kg class A drugs have been seized by West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (WMROCU) as part of a national operation to smash thousands of criminal conspiracies.

 

Working with the National Crime Agency (NCA), WMROCU has carried out months of work across the West Midlands region after an international law enforcement team cracked the encryption of communication platforms used exclusively by criminals.

EncroChat offered a secure mobile phone instant messaging service to 60,000 users worldwide and around 10,000 users in the UK. The sole use was for coordinating and planning the distribution of illicit commodities, money laundering and plotting to kill rival criminals.

Organised crime groups in the UK have been using EncroChat, communicating freely believing the technology made them secure. The criminal group behind EncroChat operated from outside the UK.

The phones – which have pre-loaded apps for instant messaging, the ability to make VOIP calls and a kill code which wipes them remotely – have no other conventional smart phone functionality and cost around £1,500 for a six-month contract.

Since 2016, the NCA has been working with international law enforcement agencies to target EncroChat and other encrypted criminal communication platforms by sharing technical expertise and intelligence.

Two months ago this collaboration resulted in partners in France and the Netherlands infiltrating the platform. The data harvested was shared via Europol. Unbeknown to users, the NCA and the police have been monitoring their every move since then under Operation Venetic – the UK law enforcement response.

In what has been described as the UK’s biggest ever law enforcement operation, WMROCU has arrested 43 people and charged 11 over the last few months.

Simultaneously, European law enforcement agencies have also been targeting organised crime groups.

WMROCU has seized:

  • £7,202,535 in criminal cash

 

  • 233.25kg cocaine

 

  • One firearm and one air weapon

 

Head of WMROCU, Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Baker, said: "Thanks to the intelligence we received, we were able to dovetail with international activity and bring operations to a conclusion much quicker.

"We have seized considerable amounts of cash, drugs, firearms and other commodities that we know were destined for local, national and international distribution.

"We specifically focussed on those thought to be involved in the highest levels of organised crime across our region.

"This work has undoubtedly saved lives by taking guns and drugs off the streets and we know we have made a huge contribution to making our streets much safer from organised crime gangs.

"Although the tactic has now been made public this does not mean the operation has stopped. The wealth of intelligence we have received means that investigations will be continuing into organised crime groups regionally and there will be many more warrants, arrests and prosecutions over the coming months as a result of this."

DCS Baker continued: "Operation Venetic began at the end of March just as the Covid-19 pandemic struck the UK, and despite the virus, officers and staff in WMROCU worked relentlessly throughout – working on their days off, working very long days all at a time when most people stayed at home.

"The dedication by the teams has resulted in us being able to identify key people involved in serious organised crime across the whole West Midlands region over the last few months."

The West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit is made up of Officers from West Midlands Police, Staffordshire Police, West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police.

Issued: 12:20pm, Thursday 2 July, Catherine Foster/CF, Corporate Communications

Share

Is there a problem with this page?

Footer navigation

We use cookies on this site to give you a better, more personalised experience.

I'm fine with cookies I'd like to manage the cookies

Warwickshire Police

  • Contact us
  • Careers
  • About us
  • News
  • Campaigns
  • Privacy notice
  • Cookies
  • Terms and conditions
  • Accessibility

Information and services

  • Advice and information
  • Crime prevention
  • Stats and data
  • Accessing information (FOI)
  • Report
  • Tell us about
  • Apply or register
  • Request
  • Thanks and complaints

Partners

  • Police.uk
  • Ask the Police
  • Police and Crime Commissioner

Follow us on:

© Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.