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EncroChat Who Has Been Arrested10/13/2020 Two men have been jailed after specialist officers seized three firearms, £14,000 in cash and a large quantity of class A drugs in south London as part of a proactive operation. Jody Hall, 46 (01.02.74), of Carters Hill Close, Bromley, and Harry El Araby, 33 (09.05.87), of Palmers Road, Bethnal Green, were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday, 23 July. Hall was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and El Araby was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. They both pleaded guilty at the same court on Tuesday, 30 June. Hall pleaded guilty to one count of supplying a firearm, two counts of possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a class A drug (cocaine) with intent to supply. Drug driving on the increase. El Araby pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, ammunition and a silencer. On Monday, 4 May at about 09:30hrs officers from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command were deployed in the vicinity of Carters Hill Close, Mottingham, as part of an intelligence led investigation. The officers witnessed Hall leave his address and walk to his car, which was parked nearby. Hall leaned into the car and placed a single plastic glove on his right hand – there were further plastic gloves on the dashboard. Hall then walked to some garages in the road and he opened a garage door with a key, entering empty handed. A minute or so later he left the garage carrying a bulky item wrapped in a white carrier bag, which also had yellow and green on it. He carried the item in his right gloved hand to his car where he placed it inside the driving seat area. He then closed the car door and walked away towards his home address empty handed. A short while later, Hall walked back to the car where he briefly parked in front of his garage and made a phone call before driving to the exit of the close. Once there he parked and was met by El Araby who arrived on a bicycle with a rucksack on his back. An exchange took place and El Araby cycled off while Hall returned to his car. Armed officers intercepted El Araby in nearby Mottingham Lane. He was searched and officers found a Glock handgun with a silencer and 50 rounds of ammunition – it was found inside a white carrier bag with yellow and green on it. Officers also found £10,000 in cash and an encrypted Encrochat phone. Armed officers also intercepted Hall, who was also found in possession of an encrypted Encrochat phone. Officers searched his home address and recovered approximately £4,000 in cash along with 11kgs of cocaine. While the search was ongoing, Hall admitted to knowing the drugs were there, adding they were nothing to do with his partner, who was present at the address. A search was also conducted at the lock-up garage and officers found a revolver concealed in an old washing machine. A specialist search team then conducted a more thorough search of the garage and they found a Berreta handgun with six rounds of ammunition in the clip. Both males were taken to a south London police station. El Araby answered no comment to all the questions put to him. Hall answered no comment to the majority of questions put to him, mainly around the firearms and the handover, but he did admit to the drugs knowingly being in his address, stating he was holding them for someone to earn some cash on the side as he did not have a job. They were both charged on Tuesday, 5 May and were convicted as above. The investigation falls under Operation Eternal, which is the most significant operation the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has ever launched against serious and organised crime. Over the last few months, European partners and the National Crime Agency (NCA) have shared data with the MPS relating to messages sent via an encrypted communication system called Encrochat. They obtained this information through an international operation named Venetic. Specialist detectives across the Met have worked relentlessly to form investigations around those utilising these Encrochat handsets to commit some of the most serious crimes across the capital. They have monitored hundreds of handsets and analysed thousands of encrypted messages to build more than 100 cases – including this one. Encro Detective Constable Gio Antoniazzi, the investigating officer, said: “These guns, and every individual bullet, represent a life that could have been lost or changed forever and so I am delighted that we were able to remove them from streets of London. “This was a fantastic team effort and the evidence gathered resulted in Hall and El Araby having no option but to plead guilty. I hope this makes people think twice about procuring dangerous weapons. “We will be relentless in our endeavour to remove lethal weapons and illegal drugs from the streets of London as well as cash gained through such activity.” (source Metropolitan Police) Image from metropolitan police pictures Through the most significant operation the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has ever launched against serious and organised crime, officers have disrupted murder plots, arrested some of London’s longest-standing and most dangerous criminals and seized more than £13 million in cash.
Over the last three months, European partners and the National Crime Agency (NCA) have shared data with the MPS relating to messages sent via an encrypted communication system called Encro chat. They obtained this information through an international operation named Venetic. The data passed to the MPS revealed there are approximately 1,400 London-based users of Encrochat. The encrypted handsets allowed users to securely communicate on a platform which up until now was impenetrable. International partners have now successfully accessed and dismantled Encrochat – disrupting one of the key communication networks used by the some of the most serious offenders. On receiving data relating to those using the devices in London, the MPS launched an operation named Eternal to target those using them for criminality. Over the last few months, specialist detectives across the Met have worked relentlessly to form investigations around those utilising these handsets to commit some of the most serious crimes across the capital. They have monitored hundreds of handsets and analysed thousands of encrypted messages to build dozens of cases. The operation has revealed the criminality of individuals who were previously unknown to the MPS, as well as provided evidence to prosecute a significant number of known criminals who regarded themselves ‘untouchable’ and remained beyond the MPS’ reach – until now. This operation has enabled detectives to place these individuals at the centre of networks of criminality. So far, the MPS has achieved results in 38 separate investigations under this operation and arrested 171 people for offences including conspiracy to murder, possession of firearms, money laundering and conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs. A total of 110 people have been charged so far, and officers have seized more than £13.4 million in cash - £5 million of this in one operation alone. This is the largest single cash seizure the Met has ever made. All with the help of the Encrochat hack. Officers have recovered 16 firearms, including Scorpion submachine guns and revolvers, seized more than 500 rounds of ammunition, 37 encrypted devices, 620kgs of Class A drugs and 19kgs of Class B drugs. Those arrested under one investigation were identified as being part of the most high-harm Organised Crime Group (OCG) in London, with long-standing links to violent crime and the importation of Class A drugs. The central figures of this group lead lavish lifestyles and live in multi-million pound properties with access to top of the range vehicles. They appear to be successful, respectable business people but they are dangerous individuals. Our enforcement activity against them reflects this – we used our most highly trained firearms officers and sophisticated tactics to arrest them at their addresses. Another investigation clearly demonstrates the link between international organised crime and serious violence across London. It focused on an OCG spanning the UK, Europe and UAE involved in the importation and distribution of cocaine and firearms. This network was actively supplying drugs to street gangs across the MPS who protect and advance their criminality through serious violence on the streets of London. In June, detectives identified a plan by this OCG to shoot and kill a member of a rival group. Their investigation meant they were able to take action to prevent this. An individual was arrested for conspiracy to murder, and a loaded pistol - believed to be the planned murder weapon - was seized from an associated search of an address. These are just some of the results from Operation Eternal which is continuing at full speed and will result in further arrests and seizures over the coming weeks and months. Commissioner Cressida Dick said: “This operation is the most significant activity, certainly in my career, we have ever carried out against serious and organised criminality across London. “Organised crime groups have used encrypted communications to enable their offending. They have openly discussed plots to murder, launder money, deal drugs and sell firearms capable of causing atrocious scenes in our communities. They were brazen and thought they were beyond the reach of the law. “Organised crime does not respect geographical boundaries. Those responsible for it adapt quickly and take advantage of every opportunity. This operation has enabled us to target those at the top of the hierarchy and individuals we have known about for years but have not been able to tackle head on. “This offending has a direct impact on our communities – those involved appear to have an air of respectability, but their actions leave a trail of misery and are inextricably linked to the violent scenes we see play out on our streets. Our investigators, intelligence analysts, firearms officers, Territorial Support Group and our local officers have worked day and night over the past two months to progress our investigations as part of this operation. “Through this work with our international partners, we have significantly developed our understanding of organised criminality in London and the ways in which some of our most prolific and dangerous offenders operate. This is just the beginning, there are many more people we are investigating. We know who they are and we have seen what they are doing and who they are doing it with. We will not rest until they have seen justice.” Source Metropolitan Police Comments are closed.
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