EXCLUSIVE: 'Armed officers spoke to EncroChat judge in chambers' during Vincent Coggins prosecution - court said 'police arranged extra security'

ARMED police reportedly spoke with the crown court judge dealing with the EncroChat prosecution of Vincent Coggin and other Huyten crew members in chambers.

The case went into chambers after defendants admitted a number of drugs conspiracy charges in November 2021.

Soon after this armed police were seen going into chambers with Judge Mr Justice Ian Dove.

Asked about the situation by Essex News and Investigations, a court official said: "The police have arranged for additional security within the building."

The EncroChat investigation happened after Dutch and French law enforcement managed to hack into the supposedly secure communication system in April 2020. They allowed access to the National Crime Agency (NCA) and British police forces to historic and live messaging being sent on the devices used by around 9,000 people in the UK. This triggered scores of police raids across the country with more than 3,000 arrests so far and over 1,500 people charged.

The NCA says it is the biggest single operation against organised crime the country has ever seen. However, many cases have been held up as there have been a number of legal challenges around admissibility of the evidence as live interception of phone calls in the UK is not usually admissible.