Police crack encrypted messaging service used by criminals, Europol says

An encrypted messaging service that was used for international drug and arms trafficking has been taken down by European authorities, Europol said on Tuesday.

The messaging service called MATRIX was discovered on the phone of a criminal convicted for the murder of Dutch celebrity crime reporter Peter R. de Vries in 2021, Europol said.

A large-scale investigation by the Dutch and French authorities managed to intercept the messaging service and monitor activity for three months, leading to the deciphering of more than 2.3 million messages in 33 languages.

"The messages that were intercepted are linked to serious crimes such as international drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and money laundering," Europol said.

"Authorities were able to monitor the messages from possible criminals, which will now be used to support other investigations."

The main servers in France and Germany were taken down, with one suspect arrested in France and two in Spain. Homes were also searched in Lithuania, Europol said.