Drugs kingpins guilty of plotting murder and running drugs empire on EncroChat
Detective Inspector Driss Hayoukane, who oversaw the Met's EncroChat operation, said: 'Thanks to the tenacity and commitment from Met officers, over 500 criminals have been successfully convicted since the EncroChat platform was cracked back in 2020, leading to well over 5,000 years of sentences being handed down to those involved.
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The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Drug kingpins plotted rival's murder while running criminal empire
Two drug kingpins have been found guilty of plotting to murder a rival as well as smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK. In what is being described as one of the largest EncroChat investigations in history, James Harding, 34, and his 'loyal right-hand man' Jayes Kharouti, 39, ran a vast criminal empire which made £5 million in profits from importing drugs over 10 weeks in 2020 alone. Old Bailey heard how the pair tried to recruit a hitman to put an unnamed rival courier 'permanently out of business', arming him with a gun and ammunition for the 'full M' – a murder. During this time, Harding, who claimed to be a high-end watch sales executive, was living in luxury in Dubai, staying in five-star hotels and driving Bugatti and Lamborghini sports cars. The plot was scuppered by Scotland Yard officers who accessed the defendants' discussions on EncroChat and trawled through thousands of messages. Officers were handed the data after French police smashed the encryption code to the service favoured by the criminal underworld. Their Old Bailey trial was held amid heightened security, with an armed police escort to and from the central London court and prison. On Tuesday, they were found guilty of conspiracy to murder while Harding was also convicted of conspiring with others to import cocaine, which Kharouti, of Epsom, Surrey, had admitted. They were remanded into custody to be sentenced on Thursday. Three other members of the organised crime group had previously admitted drugs offences. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC told the trial that the defendants discussed on EncroChat importing a tonne of cocaine over a period of 10 weeks. Harding used the nickname 'thetopsking' while Kharouti went by the handle 'besttops' and 'topsybricks', the prosecution alleged. In EncroChat messages the pair discussed the robbery of a drugs courier and Kharouti reported back on whether six or seven kilograms of cocaine had been delivered to a client the day before. Mr Atkinson said it was Harding who first raised the idea of a 'cryp robbery' – taking drugs from a courier – which became a plan to kill a courier instead. The defendants discussed how and where the murder would take place, with Kharouti offering the potential hitman £100,000. Kharouti kept his boss informed about the plan who told him it should involve a 'double tap' shot to the head and chest. Despite a delay over transport for the hitman, the defendants worked on alternative solutions even arranging the shooting near to the proposed gunman's home. The alleged hitman was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder in the early hours of 3 June, 2020, which the defendants were unaware of. Kharouti increased the offer to £120,000 but an EncroChat user trying to locate an individual for him said the price should be no less than £200,000. Harding, who had previous convictions for drugs and false documents, was arrested at Geneva airport in Switzerland on 27 December, 2021 and extradited from Switzerland. Kharouti was extradited from Turkey to the UK on 25 June last year. Giving evidence, Harding denied using the handle 'the topsking', saying it belonged to an 'intimate' male partner called TK, who he refused to identify. The case formed part of a wider operation targeting criminals who used EncroChat. Detective Chief Inspector Jim Casey, who led the investigation, said: 'This conviction sends a clear message: no matter how sophisticated the methods, criminals cannot hide behind encrypted software. 'This operation dismantled a major supply chain and is a testament to the relentless work of our officers. 'We monitored their drug-dealing activity but then we saw the group discussing the contract killing of a rival. We moved fast to protect those in danger. 'Harding and Kharouti planned to kill, we stopped that and put them before the courts.' Detective Inspector Driss Hayoukane, who oversaw the Met 's EncroChat operation, said: 'Thanks to the tenacity and commitment from Met officers, over 500 criminals have been successfully convicted since the EncroChat platform was cracked back in 2020, leading to well over 5,000 years of sentences being handed down to those involved. 'This represents our commitment to combating illegal drug supply, as well as the serious violence that comes with it. 'Our work doesn't stop here – we will continue to pursue those who profit from bringing harm to our communities and will continue to deliver our mission of reducing crime.' Previously, Calvin Crump, 29, of Redhill, Surrey; Khuram Ahmed, 38, of Slough; and Peter Thompson, 61 of south-west London, had admitted the cocaine conspiracy charge with Thompson also pleaded guilty to possession a pistol. A man alleged to have been the proposed hitman was cleared.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Crime boss James Harding guilty of murder plot and importing cocaine
A drug baron has been found guilty of importing millions of pounds of cocaine into the UK and planning the murder of a rival after police cracked his mobile phone Harding, 34, from Alton in Hampshire but who was based in Dubai, was the leader of a "sophisticated and successful" criminal syndicate that made more than £5m in just 10 weeks from distributing drugs across the UK in who gave his profession as a sales executive of luxury watches, lived a luxury lifestyle in the United Arab Emirates driving Lamborghini and Bugatti sports cars and staying at five star hotels, his Old Bailey trial has been adjourned for a date to be set. Harding's second-in-command, Jayes Kharouti, 39, from Epsom, Surrey, was also convicted of conspiracy to murder, having already pleaded guilty to importing cocaine before the trial April 2020 both men had discussed using a gunman to shoot an unnamed drugs courier from a rival crime network and to rob their pair used "EncroChat" encrypted phones to communicate, believing they were "impregnable to any access by law enforcement", said prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC. Harding and Kharouti had used nicknames, known as "handles", during their EncroChat conversations, with Harding calling himself "thetopsking" and his right hand man Kharouti using the name "besttops".Seizures of cocaine to which the defendants referred in their EncroChat calls proved "the drugs being talked about were real, the stakes high and the communications serious," the trial 50 importations of drugs were made into the UK, with a total weight of one tonne, between April and June calls revealed that in April and May 2020 "thetopsking" and "besttops" discussed the robbery of a courier, locations and the use of a bike and a gun to carry it out.A hitman was recruited who was provided with a firearm and ammunition to carry out the "full M" - a murder - the court heard.A man was identified for the task who had a previous conviction for manslaughter."The fact he did so underlines that this was a true conspiracy to murder someone the drugs importers had a problem with and wanted to put permanently out of business," said Mr Atkinson. Another man, Peter Thompson, aged 61, pleaded guilty on 4 November 2021 to the illegal importation of cocaine and possession of a firearm and showed that a firearm was available to be used in the murder planned by Harding and Kharouti, the prosecution trial heard that in 2020 a French police force identified a way to capture information from the EncroChat communications system and information about "thetopsking" and his associates was provided to UK was arrested at Geneva Airport in Switzerland on 27 December 2021 and then extradited to the UK in May 2022 to stand meanwhile fled to Turkey in 2020, but was also extradited back to the UK. 'Scared of being attacked' Giving evidence in his defence, Harding claimed he was not "thetopsking", but was instead in a relationship with a man who used that claimed he had been too "ashamed" to admit to the relationship but said going on trial had forced him to reveal it and that the "thetopsking" was in fact the father of Harding's ex-partner's also admitted that he had previously pleaded guilty to drugs offences and possession of fake ID documents and had been jailed in 2019 Harding claimed he moved to Dubai where "thetopsking" was told the trial he could not identify "thetopsking" because he was scared of being other men - Calvin Crump, 29, and Khuram Ahmed, 39 - pleaded guilty on 28 February 2024 to their involvement in a cocaine importation conspiracy. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Drug kingpins face jail for cocaine smuggling and murder plot after EncroChat investigation
A pair of drug kingpins are facing jail for plotting to murder a rival and smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK after one of the largest EncroChat investigations. James Harding, 34, and his 'loyal right-hand man' Jayes Kharouti, 39, ran a vast criminal empire which made £5m in profits from importing drugs over 10 weeks in 2020 alone. They tried to recruit a hitman to put an unnamed rival courier 'permanently out of business', arming him with a gun and ammunition for the 'full M' – a murder, the Old Bailey was told. At the time, Harding, who claimed to be a high-end watch sales executive, was living in luxury in Dubai, staying in five-star hotels and driving Bugatti and Lamborghini sports cars. The plot was scuppered by Scotland Yard officers who accessed the defendants' discussions on EncroChat, the encrypted messaging service favoured by the criminal underworld. On Tuesday, the pair were found guilty of conspiracy to murder while Harding was also convicted of conspiring with others to import cocaine, which Kharouti had admitted. The judge, Anthony Leonard KC, warned the defendants they faced 'substantial' jail sentences. Their Old Bailey trial was held amid heightened security, with an armed police escort to and from the central London court and prison. Armed police officers wearing balaclavas were posted at strategic points around the court as Harding was whisked in and out. The prosecutor, Duncan Atkinson KC, told the trial the defendants discussed on EncroChat importing a ton of cocaine over a period of 10 weeks. Harding used the nickname 'thetopsking' while Kharouti went by the handles 'besttops' and 'topsybricks', the prosecution alleged. Atkinson said it was Harding who first raised the idea of a 'cryp robbery' – taking drugs from a courier – which became a plan to kill a courier instead. The defendants discussed how and where the murder would take place, with Kharouti offering the potential hitman £100,000, the court was told. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Kharouti kept his boss informed about the plan, who told him it should involve a 'double tap' shot to the head and chest. The defendants were unaware of the alleged hitman's arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to murder in the early hours of 3 June 2020. Harding, who had previous convictions for drugs and false documents, was arrested at Geneva airport in Switzerland on 27 December 2021. He was extradited to the UK on 27 May 2022 and arrested by Metropolitan police officers at Heathrow. In a video of the arrest, an officer can be heard saying: 'Mr Harding, welcome back,' to which Harding replies: 'Oh, thanks very much.' In the footage, Harding was seen being made to wear a bulletproof vest before being driven away in an armoured vehicle. Kharouti was extradited from Turkey to the UK on 25 June last year. Giving evidence, Harding denied using the handle 'the topsking', saying it belonged to an 'intimate' male partner called TK, whom he refused to identify. The case formed part of a wider operation targeting criminals who used EncroChat. DCI Jim Casey, who led the investigation, said: 'This conviction sends a clear message: no matter how sophisticated the methods, criminals cannot hide behind encrypted software.' Previously, Calvin Crump, 29, of Redhill, Surrey, Khuram Ahmed, 38, of Slough and Peter Thompson, 61, of south-west London, had admitted the cocaine conspiracy charge. A man alleged to have been the proposed hitman was cleared. Harding and Kharouti were remanded into custody to be sentenced on Thursday.
