Arrests, sequestered funds in the wake of EncroChat disruption detailed

Europol has disclosed that more than 6,600 individuals have been arrested while $979 million in assets have been seized three years after the disruption of the encrypted mobile communications platform EncroChat in a major European law enforcement operation, reports BleepingComputer. After infiltrating EncroChat in 2020, European law enforcement agencies examined hundreds of millions of conversations among the platform's nearly 60,000 users to sequester $807 million and freeze another $168 million, while seizing 270 tons of drugs, 971 vehicles, 923 weapons, 271 properties, 83 boats, 68 explosives, and 40 planes, according to Europol. Members of organized crime accounted for most of the platform's users, followed by those involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, murders, and firearm trafficking. Moreover, Sky ECC, where most of EncroChat users have migrated after its disruption, also had its encryption broken in another European law enforcement operation, resulting in the seizure of assets and arrests in March 2021.