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Jan 2024
28m 28s

Catching the Kingpins: 1. The Hack

Bbc Radio 5 Live
About this episode

Police across Europe prepare for a top-secret operation: the hacking of EncroChat, an encrypted phone network favoured by organised crime groups.

EncroChat’s server has been discovered in northern France. The French police are planning to secretly inject some code into the users’ next software update. If it works, police could be reading the criminals’ messages for weeks.

At the Metropolitan Police in London, DCI Driss Hayoukane is summoned to a confidential meeting where he hears about the plan. He realises this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and decides to put his retirement on hold.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Series Producer: Andrew Hosken Editor and Executive Producer: Innes Bowen Catching the Kingpins is a BBC Studios Production for BBC Sounds.

Up next
Jan 2024
Catching the Kingpins: 2. Threat to Life
It's April 2020, and the Metropolitan Police are overwhelmed with messages hacked from the EncroChat network. Buried among the millions of texts and photographs, are the outlines of a murder plot. An anonymous EncroChat user is trying to source a gun and some ammunition for a dri ... Show More
28m 58s
Jan 2024
Catching the Kingpins: 3. In Suburbia
In the wealthy village of Denham in Buckinghamshire, Lee Hannigan and Harry Hicks-Samuels play the part of successful businessmen really well. Hannigan has a car garage, a mansion with a Ferrari on the drive and a place in Dubai. Hicks-Samuels is only 27 but has a watch business ... Show More
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Jan 2024
Catching the Kingpins: 4. Who Built EncroChat?
Little is known about who invented the EncroChat network and who owned it. Even the police who investigated the criminals using the network, know little about who’s behind it. Journalists David James Smith and Joseph Cox explain what their investigations into the company reveal. ... Show More
28m 34s
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