Operation Dark Phone: Murder By Text – this jaw-dropping tale of how police hacked gangs is like The Wire

The news article discusses a docu-drama titled "Operation Dark Phone: Murder By Text," which focuses on how the National Crime Agency (NCA) hacked the encrypted phone network EncroChat used by organized crime gangs. For 74 days, the police had access to every message and picture used to coordinate criminal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder. The documentary-drama cleverly presents the intercepted messages, which are revealed like screenplay dialogue across the scenes. It provides an arresting insight into how criminal gangs operate and communicate, using code words such as "sweets" for bullets and "pineapple" for a grenade. The article also highlights a case where a violent British criminal, known as Live-long, organized an acid attack on a rival while lying low in Spain, sharing details of his breakfast in between. The article emphasizes that the police work depicted in the docu-drama is a rare occurrence, as police work is often more mundane, involving paperwork, online training, and referring people to driver offender courses. However, in this case, life has indeed imitated art, with the police hacking the encrypted network and gaining access to the criminal organizations' activities.