Colchester man charged in connection with EncroChat-related investigation
He has been remanded in custody
A man from Colchester has been charged in connection with an investigation into the sale of drugs linked to the use of the EncroChat messaging service.
Iain Harper, aged 30, of East Ward Mews in Colchester, has been charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
He has been remanded in custody.
He was due to appear at Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on 14 June and is next due to appear at a later date.
It is in connection with an investigation linked to Op Venetic – a major operation involving the cracking of a bespoke encrypted global communication service.
EncroChat offered a secure mobile phone instant messaging service with 60,000 users worldwide and around 10,000 in the UK.
Since 2016, international law enforcement agencies worked together to target EncroChat and agencies in France and the Netherlands infiltrated the platform.
The intelligence gleaned through this was then shared via Europol to national law enforcement agencies.