In the six weeks since February 20, police have seized 27.64 tonnes of cocaine at the port of Antwerp, including a record shipment of almost 11 tonnes overnight on April 2-3, the Belgian Federal Police said in a statement Monday -market.
Police experts gained access to encrypted messages from an encrypted messaging service called Sky ECC, which revealed detailed information about cocaine shipments, the statement said.
“During a judicial investigation into a potential criminal service organization suspected of intentionally providing encrypted phones to the criminal environment, police experts were able to crack Sky ECC’s encrypted messages,” the statement said.
“These data provide elements in current files, but they have also opened up new criminal offenses. International smuggling of batches of cocaine plays a prominent role in intercepted reports. ”
Police said investigations were continuing.
This is not the first time that law enforcement agencies have infiltrated an encrypted platform used by criminals.
Last year, agencies in France and the Netherlands infiltrated a platform called EncroChat and shared the data via Europol, allowing the police to monitor private communications – including photos and millions of messages – from criminals.
EncroChat, which offered a secure instant messaging service for cell phones, was a “criminal market” used by 60,000 people worldwide to coordinate the distribution of illicit goods, money laundering and conspiring to kill rivals, according to National UK Crime Agency (NCA).
In July, the NCA said it made 746 arrests and seized £ 54 million ($ 68 million) in cash, 77 firearms and more than two tons of drugs during Operation Venetic, the largest such operation in the United Kingdom.
Dutch police said they made 60 arrests during the investigation, code-named “Lemont”, and seized 25 tons of drugs, 20 million euros ($ 23 million), dozens of automatic weapons, 25 cars and expensive watches.
At a joint press conference with European law enforcement agencies at the time, Dutch police said 19 synthetic drug laboratories had been dismantled.
EncroChat handsets cost around £ 1,500 ($ 1,870) for a six-month contract and come with pre-loaded instant messaging apps, the ability to make calls and a kill code so they can be erased remotely.
Emma Reynolds of CNN contributed to this report.