Two drug kingpins jailed for life following Met EncroChat investigation

Two men have been jailed for life for importing and dealing a tonne of cocaine and plotting a murder.

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.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Casey, who led the investigation, said:

“This sentencing shows the severity of the crimes the duo committed.

“Following one of the largest EncroChat investigations in the Met’s history, I am pleased that both criminals are serving the time they deserve.

“Not only did they have a detailed plan to kill, their conspiracy to import and deal drugs harmed a number of our communities in London and across the country.

“This sends a clear message to other potential offenders: we will investigate and we will put you before the courts.”

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.

He was sentenced to life at The Old Bailey on Thursday, 26 June, and will have to serve a minimum of 32 years’ imprisonment.

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.

He was sentenced to life at The Old Bailey on Thursday, 26 June, and will have to serve a minimum of 26 years’ imprisonment.

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’.

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.

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.