Crime lords arrested after European police crack secret chat service

Hundreds of top-tier criminals have been arrested across Europe after detectives cracked an encrypted messaging service used to organise major drug smuggling operations and gangland hits.

French and Dutch police broke into the EncroChat service two months ago and have been harvesting the data from the criminal-only service that has allowed countries across the continent to take down some of their most significant criminals.

Police in the UK said the information had led to the arrests of 746 people in the country’s biggest law enforcement operation and provided evidence to arrest known criminals who regarded themselves as “untouchable”.

Criminals had been speaking freely about their illegal operations on the subscription-only service believing that the system could not be infiltrated.

Police in the UK seized £54 million (Dh248m) in cash, 77 guns and more than two tonnes of class A and B drugs as part of the operation. In the Netherlands, police arrested more than 100 suspects, seized about eight tonnes of cocaine and dismantled 19 drugs laboratories.

EncroChat had 60,000 users worldwide with the operators behind the service selling the special customised Android phones for €1,000 each with a six-month contract costing €1,500, said the European police body Europol.

The operators of the system realised it had been cracked only on June 13 and sent an emergency alert to customers to tell them to throw away their handsets. But police had already been monitoring communications between criminals for weeks.

“The sole use was for co-ordinating and planning the distribution of illicit commodities, money laundering and plotting to kill rival criminals,” said the UK’s National Crime Agency in a statement.

Its director of investigations, Nikki Holland, said: “Together we’ve protected the public by arresting middle-tier criminals and the kingpins, the so-called iconic untouchables who have evaded law enforcement for years, and now we have the evidence to prosecute them.”

One of the guns seized during an operation by London police using information from the cracked EncroChat network. Metropolitan Police

Police in London said the operation would lead to organised criminal networks being disrupted for “weeks and months and possibly years to come”.

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat

Walls

Louis Tomlinson

3 out of 5 stars

(Syco Music/Arista Records)

While you're here

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In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
150 tonnes to landfill
50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site

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The biog

Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi

Age: 23

How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them

Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need

Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman

Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs

Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing