Organised crime gangs who planned to deal drugs and kill have been arrested

An image of the cash that was seized by West Midlands Police as part of the organised crime crackdown investigation
The cash seized by West Midlands Police Credit: Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands

A code-breaking operation has led to police arresting more than 72 people in the Midlands who were planning drug deals, and to potentially kill others.

In the West Midlands 43 people were arrested with 11 of those facing charges. £7,202,535 in cash and 233.25kg of cocaine was seized by police in the region.

29 arrests were made in the East Midlands, 50.25kg of cocaine and £2,191,200 in cash was seized by Police in the region.

They were using encrypted mobile phone software called Encrochat.

They thought it was a secure platform, but police intercepted millions of texts which blew the criminal operations wide open. 

Drugs seized by West Midlands Police Credit: Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands

Since 2016, the National Crime Agency has been working with international law enforcement agencies to target EncroChat and other encrypted criminal communication platforms.

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