Met officers foil drug gang murder plot

Two drug kingpins have been found guilty of importing and dealing a tonne of cocaine and plotting a murder, following one of the largest EncroChat investigations in history led by Met detectives.

The Met’s investigation uncovered the two men’s plan to commit a murder, as well as their role in delivering millions of pounds worth of drugs across the capital and beyond.

The evidence of the offences were identified after officers trawled through thousands of messages on encrypted communication service EncroChat.

Thought to be impenetrable by law enforcement, Met officers accessed chats between James Harding and Jayes Kharouti.

It was identified that James Harding, 34 (01.01.1991), of Alton, Hampshire, was the head of a sophisticated organised drug dealing network, turning over an estimated £5 million profit in just 10 weeks. Harding resided in Dubai at the time of his arrest.

Harding was found guilty by the jury of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and conspiracy to commit murder on Tuesday, 24 June at The Old Bailey, following a seven-week trial.

Kharouti, 39, (09.02.1986) of Depot Road, Epsom, previously admitted to his role in supplying drugs on Friday, 8 November 2024 at The Old Bailey. He was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder alongside Harding on Tuesday, 24 June at the same court.

Chats on the encrypted messaging site unveiled they both spoke, in detail, about their plan to kill a suspected drug courier from a ‘rival crime network’.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Casey, who led the investigation, said: “This conviction sends a clear message: no matter how sophisticated the methods, criminals cannot hide behind encrypted software.

“This operation dismantled a major supply chain and is a testament to the relentless work of our officers.

“We monitored their drug-dealing activity but then we saw the group discussing the contract killing of a rival.  We moved fast to protect those in danger.

“Harding and Kharouti planned to kill, we stopped that and put them before the courts.”

This case is part of a wider operation to take down those who utilised EncroChat, after the National Crime Agency (NCA) passed information onto the Met after European agencies cracked the encrypted communications platform.

So far, Met investigations have led to more than 5,000 years-worth of prison sentences for criminals on the site.

Detective Inspector Driss Hayoukane QPM, who oversaw the Met’s EncroChat operation, added:

“Thanks to the tenacity and commitment from Met officers, over 500 criminals have been successfully convicted since the EncroChat platform was cracked back in 2020, leading to well over 5,000 years of sentences being handed down to those involved.

“This represents our commitment to combatting illegal drug supply, as well as the serious violence that comes with it.

“Our work doesn’t stop here - we will continue to pursue those who profit from bringing harm to our communities and will continue to deliver our mission of reducing crime.”

The investigation

Following the thorough investigation into a series of conversations on EncroChat, the Met discovered Harding used the handle “thetopsking”, while Kharouti used “besttops”. They used the platform to confidently communicate with each other about their vast criminal enterprise.

The Met spent hundreds of hours reviewing and analysing these messages. Among them were clear conspiracies to carry out a murder of a rival drug gang member with detailed plans, involving recruiting paid hitmen, arranging firearms and getaway vehicles. They had also discussed times, dates and locations.

This was on top of plans to coordinate deliveries of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine across the country, manage their vast finances and discuss security threats.

The court heard that approximately 50 importations were made into the UK, with a total weight of one tonne, between April and June 2020.

This allowed Harding to live a lavish lifestyle in the United Arab Emirates, where he conducted his criminal enterprise.

The arrests

Harding was arrested on Monday, 27 December 2021 at Geneva Airport, Switzerland. On Friday, 27 May 2022, he was extradited from Switzerland to the UK when he was arrested by Met officers.

Kharouti’s home was searched in 2020 after he was linked to the messages. Police found a handset with the same number he gave to Harding. He fled the country shortly after this, before being found in Turkey and extradited back to the UK.

They are both due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday, 26 June.