More than 420 criminals have been jailed and three tones of illegal drugs seized in the three-and-a-half years since the launch of the Met’s largest ever operation targeting members of organised crime groups.
Op Eternal is the name for the ongoing Met-led investigations into criminals who use encrypted EncroChat devices to organise multi-kilo drug deals, launder money, and orchestrate violence.
The operation has disrupted the running of organised crime groups and seen prosecutions brought against those criminals who play a role in getting illegal drugs and firearms into the hands of London gang members and dealers, which leads to violence in London’s communities.
Op Eternal led the way in using precise, data-led policing to target those criminals causing the most harm in London – a commitment made in the Met’s A New Met for London plan.
The success of Operation Eternal has led to:
– 942 arrests – on average, more than one Op Eternal arrest every two days
– 784 of those people have been charged with a range of offences – predominantly drugs possession with intent/supply/conspiracy to supply, but also firearms, money laundering, and violence offences.
– 426 people convicted (one every three days, on average), for a grand total of 3,722 years (average of more than eight-and-a-half years for each person).
– More than £19 million in cash has been seized.
– More than three tonnes of Class A and B drugs seized.
– 49 guns, and 755 pieces of ammunition seized.
Londoners tell us loud and clear that they want to see a stop to the violence, crime and abuse connected to drugs, guns and the exploitation of vulnerable people.
Throughout this operation, specialist teams have worked closely with frontline colleagues to get results that will help communities thrive.
Commander Paul Brogden, who leads the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “Op Eternal is the most significant operation targeting organised crime figures in the Met’s history.
“The suspects in these investigations are dangerous criminals, many of whom play a key role in supplying kilos of drugs to street gangs whose activities blight and cause misery in communities across London.
“Every dangerous criminal jailed, and every gun and amount of drugs taken off the street as part of Op Eternal has served to make neighbourhoods in and around the capital safer.”
Operation Eternal gave police unique access to senior members of organised criminal networks who were either previously operating out of reach of police, or the extent of their offending was not known.
Some of these figures led lavish lifestyles, live in multi-million pound properties and drive top-of-the-range cars. And many are now serving jail sentences.
Commander Brogden added: “Op Eternal investigations have been supported by officers and staff from all corners of the Met, and it is testament to their skill and dedication that this operation has been so successful.
“Our Op Eternal caseload remains significant, and many more cases are being progressed behind the scenes.
“We still have specialist teams working to attribute EncroChat handles to people; we are still making arrests regularly; and we still have more to do.
“Our message to criminals who operated on EncroChat and haven’t yet been visited by police is clear; we won’t stop until we have investigated all EncroChat handles, and it is only a matter of time before we knock on your door and arrest you.”
Operation Eternal was launched in March 2020 after EncroChat data was accessed by French law enforcement, and the National Crime Agency (NCA) passed this data – relating to hundreds of London-based EncroChat handles – to the Met.
Our partners play a vital role in bringing these offenders to justice – the NCA and European law enforcement partners, with whom we work closely on investigations; and the Crown Prosecution Service, who take on the task of getting these complex cases ready for trial. Intelligence from members of the public also remains vitally important in our fight against crime.
The NCA’s operation is called Operation Venetic.
Craig Turner, NCA Deputy Director of Investigations, said: “Operation Venetic has resulted in remarkable achievements across UK law enforcement.
“We are really proud to have led the operation in what was a watershed moment in the fight against serious and organised crime.
“The infiltration of EncroChat provided a gold mine of intelligence which through officers’ monumental efforts, was transformed into evidence enabling thousands of arrests to happen. There has been nothing like it.
“The NCA and partners in policing do everything possible to protect the public from the most dangerous organised criminals in the UK and beyond.”
