In June 2020, a gigantic bust of EncroChat servers conducted by the police in the UK brought many different criminal organisations to justice as the hacked messages were used in court as evidence of their activities.
However, during the process of these arrests, many defence lawyers have disputed these claims and have stated that the encrochat material that is being used in court was obtained unlawfully as it was found via hacking.
This has led many people who have not yet been questioned about their uses of EncroChat to be rather confused about what is currently being said in and around these cases.
Throughout this blog post, we are going to be running you through the ins and outs of the EncroChat cases and how Operation Venetic may affect other EncroChat users.
What Was EncroChat?
EncroChat was a mobile phone service that would supply its customers with an encrypted mobile device in which people would be able to be completely anonymous and safe from hackers.
While this does seem like a great advantage it does also mean that the police will not be able to legally monitor your ongoing conversations and will therefore mean that you may be immediately placed under suspicion by your local department.
Owning an encrypted device is completely legal in the UK however the activity does appear very suspicious to law enforcement no matter if your intentions are malicious or perfectly innocent.
When the hack took place, all of the encrypted EncroChat devices were sent a message saying that all of their messages had been compromised and that they would “no longer be able to guarantee the security of your device”.
This was sent to all 60,000 members of the services who were currently paying for the security services of EncroChat and were using their servers.
Operation Venetic
Operation Venetic is the term used to refer to the global hack of the EncroChat servers in June 2020 that led to one of the largest drug busts in European history.
This has brought its fair share of controversy during the entire operation due to how it has breached the privacy of the thousands of people using the service.
The hack did, however, lead to a great number of arrests being made on some of the largest criminal organisations in Europe which then meant that over 2 tonnes of drugs were able to be intercepted as a result.
In the midst of Operation Venetic’s case building, police were able to access over 20 million messages that could have played a major part in the damnation of many people’s lives.
These messages allowed police to monitor the future outgoings and movements of the criminals and have made upwards of 1000 arrests.
Was This Legal?
Something that many people have been querying over the past few years while this has been going on is whether or not the obtaining of this information was legal or not – with many solicitors using this information as a means of defending their clients.
The underlining answer as to whether this was legal or not is simply yes – meaning it can be used as admissible in a court of law.
In most cases, obtaining information using intercepting is strictly prohibited and would never pass as admissible evidence.
In the case of Operation Venetic, the information from EncroChat was obtained by sections 4(4)(b) or 4(4)(a) of the Investigatory Powers Act which states “at the point of interception, were the communications ‘stored in or by’ the system by which they were transmitted, or were ‘being transmitted’”.
This meant that the members of the Court of Appeal would agree that the evidence would be admissible in court from then on out.
Defence Solicitors
If you are concerned about the recent ongoings of Operation Venetic and need a defence solicitor to help you through this troubling time, we are here to help.
At EncroChat Solicitors, we have an expert team of defence lawyers that have many years of experience in this field and will be sure to build the best case possible for you no matter what the circumstances.
We aim to make each one of our clients feel comfortable and at home so that we can dive deep into the crux of your case without it simply being another client that we have.
This personalised approach has allowed us to deliver services that are second to none in the field of EcroChat criminal defence – we have worked for many years to be able to provide the services that we do.
If you would like any further information about Operation Venetic or EncroChat or if you would like to enlist our support services for your defence case, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at 0330 133 6541 or email us at contact@encrochatsolicitors.com and we will be happy to help in any way that we can.
Conclusion
Overall, we hope that we have been able to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of all things EncroChat and Operation Venetic to ensure that you are aware of what may occur if you are caught up in the allegations.
When looking to battle an allegation made about you based upon your usage of the EncroChat servers and the services they provided, you will need an expert team of defence lawyers by your side to make sure that you get the best outcome possible.
Even if you believe that your situation is lost, professional legal support can prove invaluable to you, in the long run, to provide you with extra knowledge and help that will get you through this incredibly concerning time.
