French law enforcement unlocked last year the encrypted platform which thousands of criminals worldwide had used to safely communicate with each other. The hacked data were shared with law enforcement throughout Europe, which led to the arrest of thousands of organized crime suspects.
Among them is the 44-year-old man whose name the agency did not disclose. He was apprehended at an address in Woolwich, South East London, on behalf of German authorities as “he is believed to have a significant role in an Albanian and German organized crime group behind cocaine importations over a number of years.”
“This man has gone to great lengths to evade law enforcement both in Germany and the U.K.,” NCA Deputy Director, Andrea Wilson, said.
Some U.K. media speculated that the suspect was an Albanian national, but the NCA has not revealed his nationality, although Wilson did say that “Western Balkan crime groups have a presence at all stages of the cocaine supply chain, from South America to the U.K.”
“They play a significant role in the wholesale movement of cocaine, and we will not stop in our endeavours to identify those involved and disrupt their activity,” she concluded.
