Ever since a French police operation in 2020 which compromised the highly encrypted telecommunications network, EncroChat, organised crime bosses across Europe have been looking over their shoulders. Law enforcement agencies were granted access to a treasure trove of evidence – hundreds of millions of messages – and it has led to arrests and convictions on an unprecedented scale.

Now, the BBC has gained access to 10,000 messages which contributed to the downfall of one of the UK’s most feared families. On today’s episode, Katya speaks to investigative reporter Bronagh Munro, who reveals how this secretive organised crime group were stopped, as they sought revenge for a daring challenge to their authority.

Listeners in the UK can watch the full BBC Panorama episode ‘The Crime Bosses who Terrorised a City’ here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001ysrj/panorama-the-crime-bosses-who-terrorised-a-city Or for more on EncroChat, search for the six-part BBC series ‘Gangster Presents... Catching the Kingpins’ wherever you get your podcasts.

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This episode was made by Laurie Kalus and Alix Pickles. The technical producers were Hannah Montgomery and Gareth Jones. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Sam Bonham.