Operation Dark Phone on Channel 4 highlights local cases

Channel 4's Operation Dark Phone series illustrates Greater Manchester Police's key role in bringing down organised crime.

The series highlights bring down Jamie Rothwell, Debra Charlton, and Faruquz Zaman, the latter two who are both from Bolton after the dramatic infiltration of EncroChat – an encrypted communications platform used by organised crime groups across Europe.

The breach allowed law enforcement agencies, including GMP, to monitor messages in real time for 74 days, leading to a wave of arrests and convictions of some of GM’s most serious organised criminals.

The force was at the forefront of this national effort, working closely with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and other regional forces as part of Operation Venetic – the UK’s response to the EncroChat takedown.

At the centre of GMP’s investigation was Rothwell, 38, a fugitive drugs kingpin from Salford, who used EncroChat extensively.

When the encrypted platform was compromised in April 2020, Rothwell fled the UK and settled in Spain, continuing to orchestrate the importation and distribution of drugs, firearms, and criminal cash from abroad.

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Despite his attempts to evade justice, detectives were able to monitor his encrypted communications in real time, exposing his command over a sprawling criminal enterprise and his involvement in the trafficking of high-powered weapons, including AK-47 rifles.

Rothwell’s messages revealed not only the scale of his operation but also the cold efficiency with which he conducted business. He was seen directing the movement of drugs and cash across the UK, arranging the purchase of firearms, and even discussing potential acts of violence. His arrest in Barcelona in May 2020 marked a significant breakthrough in GMP’s efforts to dismantle serious organised crime.

Another remarkable case highlighted in the wake of the EncroChat breach was that of Charlton, 37, a woman from Bolton who used her key worker pass during lockdown to transport heroin and cocaine across Greater Manchester. She was jailed alongside drugs boss Faruquz Zaman, 46, also of Bolton, who was linked to encrypted messages detailing large-scale drug deals and cash movements. The pair were sentenced for over 26 years combined.
 

Detective Superintendent Joseph Harrop, who has overseen GMP’s contribution, said: “The EncroChat breakthrough gave us an extraordinary opportunity to strike at the heart of organised crime. We saw complex drug supply plots as well as very real threats of extreme violence coming to the streets of Greater Manchester being developed in real time.

(Image: GMP) Jamie Rothwell used the notorious Enchrochat messaging service“For the first time, we were able to read messages shortly after they were sent—often within hours. This meant seeing how and where drugs were moved to, how violence was planned, and how criminal networks operated at scale. But with that insight came responsibility. We had to act with care and tact, as well as urgency to protect the public while gathering as much evidence as possible to ensure the strongest outcomes in court. It was truly a unique moment in policing, and our teams rose to the challenge.”

The documentary also reveals how others criminals have used the tech to discuss murder plots, torture chambers, and drug shipments with brazen openness, believing their communications were untraceable. GMP’s intelligence teams, detectives, and specialist units played a critical role in interpreting this data and turning it into actionable evidence.

The Channel 4 series is available to stream now.