24 HOURS IN POLICE CUSTODY:
THE SECRET NETWORK

Edit Producer & Director: Dan Howell
Executive Producers: Simon Ford, Amber Ronowicz
Series Director: Jermaine Blake | Series Editor: Tess Mawle
Series Producer: Carys Laws | Producer: Val Landeg
Producer/Director: Sophie Oliver
Editors: Mike Harrowes, Harry Cross

100th episode of the award-winning documentary series, following the takedown of a shadowy organised criminal network operating on an encrypted app.

In 2020, French Police hack into an encrypted messaging app called EncroChat, which some of the world’s most dangerous criminals have been using to plan shootings and drug importations in secret. When UK police forces get the data, they must work against the clock to respond, before the leak becomes public knowledge and the trail goes cold.

At the same time in Bedfordshire, a shotgun is fired through the front door of a family home. Clues to the organised criminal network behind the attack are hidden in the messages. The film follows OPERATION COSTELLO, Bedfordshire Police’s unit created to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice. When they identify the group’s leader, known only as ‘Uncle’, investigators realise there is far more at stake than they first thought.