The year that shook the underworld as fall out from EncroChat hack continues The ECHO takes a look back at 12 months that allowed detectives an extraordinary insight into gangland following the hack of a controversial communications network One of the biggest recent breakthroughs in the battle against organised crime was made 12 months ago. It was in early April of 2020 that a team of Dutch and French investigators hacked into EncroChat, a sophisticated communications platform said by police to have been used by gangland. Underworld figures bargained, plotted and traded through encrypted messages they believed would never be exposed. But that mistaken confidence was torn apart by Operation Emma - the name of the Dutch and French initiative.