Latest news with #DannyBrown
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Inside Encrochat crime - how drug lords using secret app were caught
More than 200 murders have been stopped since the secret network EncroChat was busted by the National Crime Agency, a top investigator who worked on the major case says With its five-and-a-half-inch screen and homepage apps, it looked like just any other smartphone. But the give-away was the handset's £1,500 retail price, the £1,500-a-month 'line rental' – and the fact it wasn't for sale in any mobile phone shops. The device allowed users to connect to EncroChat – a secret network offering military-grade secrecy that allowed international criminal gangs to chat with apparent impunity. But five years ago today, police made a breakthrough in cracking the network, and British officers began a huge operation to nail the exposed gangsters. Today, the top investigator on the case tells how they believe busting the network helped stop up to 200 murders. And in the last five years, more than 200 hardened criminals have been jailed with sentences totalling 14,000 years. Thousands of people have been arrested, some £83million in ill-gotten gains have been recovered, 175 guns have been seized and eight tons of cocaine – the weight of an Asian elephant – have been taken off the streets. When French and Dutch experts cracked the code for the EncroChat network, Britain's National Crime Agency launched Operation Venetic. They went on to find kingpins brazenly swapping encrypted messages in supposed safety. Detectives, sworn to secrecy, worked around the clock to analyse mountains of data and spy on dangerous crooks. And while they were smashing the drugs gangs, National Crime Agency investigators gained an unprecedented insight into the lives of Britain's biggest criminals. One £45million plot was scuppered after drug lord Danny Brown, 57, shared a picture of his French Bulldog Bob with his partner's phone number on his tag. NCA investigators downloaded the snap and used it to identify Bob's owner. Meanwhile, Carl Stewart, 39, was jailed for 13 years after his fingerprints were analysed from a photo he shared of a block of M&S Stilton, earning him the moniker 'Cheese Man'. Wayne Johns, from the NCA, said: 'There was absolute trust in it [the phone] and that went to the messages. Literally pictures of your tea, Happy Birthday messages, pictures of themselves… 'Here I am in the garden'.' The selfies and messages sent via EncroChat helped police build a picture of who they were tracking and eventually helped to convict them. Other images show guns and even gold bars hoarded by the gangs who used EncroChat. The phones worked on a private network and were completely anonymous so downloaded data had to be matched to real people before arrests could be made. Users could pay extra to customise their phones and having a personalised username became a status symbol. Mr Johns, the senior investigating officer on Operation Venetic, said: 'People were looking for ones affiliated to football clubs or for ones, bizarrely, that attributed to Only Fools and Horses. There's some brilliant names there. You've got Ball-Sniffer and there was one, Terry F***ing Tibbs.' Users trusted the network so much that they discussed every detail of their lives, giving up vital information. Mr Johns added: 'One of my favourite stories – we call him Cheese Man – was a man from the North West who had a penchant for really nice cheese and he was sharing images of them. ''I've just bought this one and it's cost me…' whatever it's cost. On the picture, you can see the profile of his hand and his fingers. We're sat in a room just looking at him and laughing at the banality of what he's sharing. Then, one of the intel team said, 'That's his fingerprint'. And all of a sudden, it's like the light switch.' The team developed an algorithm to go through every picture looking for hands and dog collars. Mr Johns called these 'golden nuggets'. After the arrests started, criminal gangs continued using the phones, thinking it was safe to do so. 'What we did see was a whole series of people questioning absolutely everything except the phones,' Mr Johns said. 'They blamed everything except the device for being the reason the police were able to intervene and prevent somebody from being murdered.' The information shared via the phones will be used as evidence to jail British drug gangs for years to come. And among the data collected before EncroChat was shut down were intimate pictures. Mr Johns said: 'The work we did around identifying fingerprints in the data brought up other appendages that look a little bit like a finger. That gives you an example of the level of trust.' An estimated 50,000 devices were in use worldwide with 10,000 of those based in the UK. After months of negotiation and preparation with law enforcement on the continent, the call finally came announcing that the EncroChat hack was on. The NCA team had no idea how long they would be able to collect data for, so investigators worked night and day to make the most of it… during the pandemic. Mr Johns said: 'In February 2020, Covid is really starting to bite. Police are starting to struggle in terms of what they're being asked to do.' The NCA was the gateway for data from European partners and spread the information to regional crime agencies. Mr Johns added: 'We had to swear people to secrecy. If it was compromised, if we were responsible, we would lose access to the data and effectively be booted out of the group. We were a bit nervous, but everybody saw the opportunity.' Data was collected for 10 weeks over the summer of 2020. Mr Johns went on: 'We recovered 175 guns and over 3,500 rounds of ammunition – proper mass casualty weapons but they're not on the street any more. 'Around £83million of criminal proceeds were seized across the country and nearly eight tons of cocaine. Some 202 people have been convicted to date with 87% of defendants pleading guilty and a 94% conviction rate – at least 14,228 years of sentencing so far. 'We've still got over 500 defendants waiting to go through the courts and this material being relied on. We will always be grateful to our French and Dutch colleagues who were able to provide this capability. 'I fully expect I won't see anything like it again in my career. It's been inspiring. What you saw was a coming together of all of our capabilities behind a common aim. It has been described as the most impactful operation against serious organised crime ever undertaken.'
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Daily Record
Top cop on EncroChat case tells how 'busting the network might have helped stop 200 murders'
When French and Dutch experts cracked the code for the EncroChat network, Britain's National Crime Agency launched Operation Venetic. With its five-and-a-half-inch screen and homepage apps, it looked like just any other smartphone. But the giveaway was the handset's £1500 retail price, the £1500-a-month 'line rental' – and the fact it wasn't for sale in any mobile phone shop. The device allowed users to connect to EncroChat – a secret network offering military-grade secrecy that allowed international criminal gangs to chat with apparent impunity. But five years ago today, police made a breakthrough in cracking the network, and officers began a huge operation to nail the exposed gangsters. Today, the top investigator on the case tells how they believe busting the network helped stop up to 200 murders. And in the last five years, more than 200 hardened criminals have been jailed with sentences totalling 14,000 years. Thousands of people have been arrested, some £83million in ill-gotten gains has been recovered, 175 guns seized and eight tons of cocaine – the weight of an Asian elephant – taken off the streets. When French and Dutch experts cracked the code for the EncroChat network, Britain's National Crime Agency launched Operation Venetic. They went on to find kingpins brazenly swapping encrypted messages in supposed safety. Detectives, sworn to secrecy, worked around the clock to analyse mountains of data and spy on dangerous crooks. And while they were smashing the drugs gangs, National Crime Agency investigators gained an unprecedented insight into the lives of Britain's biggest criminals. One £45million plot was scuppered after drug lord Danny Brown, 57, shared a picture of his French Bulldog Bob with his partner's phone number on his tag. NCA investigators downloaded the snap and used it to identify Bob's owner. Meanwhile, Carl Stewart, 39, was jailed for 13 years after his fingerprints were analysed from a photo he shared of a block of M&S Stilton, earning him the moniker 'Cheese Man'. Wayne Johns, from the NCA, said: 'There was absolute trust in it [the phone] and that went to the messages. Literally pictures of your tea, happy birthday messages, pictures of themselves… 'Here I am in the garden'.' The selfies and messages sent via EncroChat helped police build a picture of who they were tracking and eventually helped to convict them. Other images show guns and even gold bars hoarded by the gangs who used EncroChat. The phones worked on a private network and were completely anonymous so downloaded data had to be matched to real people before arrests could be made. Users could pay extra to customise their phones and having a personalised username became a status symbol. Wayne, the senior investigating officer on Operation Venetic, said: 'People were looking for ones affiliated to football clubs or for ones, bizarrely, that attributed to Only Fools and Horses. 'There's some brilliant names there. You've got Ball-Sniffer and there was one, Terry F***ing Tibbs.' Users trusted the network so much that they discussed every detail of their lives, giving up vital information. Wayne added: 'One of my favourite stories – we call him Cheese Man – was a man from the north-west who had a penchant for really nice cheese and he was sharing images of them. ''I've just bought this one and it's cost me…' whatever it's cost. On the picture, you can see the profile of his hand and his fingers. We're sat in a room just looking at him and laughing at the banality of what he's sharing. 'Then, one of the intel team said, 'That's his fingerprint'. And all of a sudden, it's like the light switch.' The team developed an algorithm to go through every picture looking for hands and dog collars. Wayne called these 'golden nuggets'. After the arrests started, criminal gangs continued using the phones, thinking it was safe to do so. 'What we did see was a whole series of people questioning absolutely everything except the phones,' Wayne said. 'They blamed everything except the device for being the reason the police were able to intervene and prevent somebody from being murdered.' The information shared via the phones will be used as evidence to jail British drug gangs for years to come. Among the data collected before EncroChat was shut down were intimate pictures. Wayne said: 'The work we did around identifying fingerprints in the data brought up other appendages that look a little bit like a finger. 'That gives you an example of the level of trust.' An estimated 50,000 devices were in use worldwide, with 10,000 of them based in the UK. After months of negotiation and preparation with law enforcement on the continent, the call finally came announcing that the EncroChat hack was on. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The NCA team had no idea how long they would be able to collect data for, so investigators worked night and day to make the most of it during the pandemic. Wayne said: 'In February 2020, Covid is really starting to bite. Police are starting to struggle in terms of what they're being asked to do.' The NCA was the gateway for data from European partners and spread the information to regional crime agencies. Wayne added: 'We had to swear people to secrecy. If it was compromised, if we were responsible, we would lose access to the data and effectively be booted out of the group. 'We were a bit nervous, but everybody saw the opportunity.' Data was collected for 10 weeks over the summer of 2020. Wayne went on: 'We recovered 175 guns and over 3500 rounds of ammunition – proper mass casualty weapons but they're not on the street any more. 'Around £83million of criminal proceeds were seized across the country and nearly eight tons of cocaine. Some 202 people have been convicted to date with 87 per cent of defendants pleading guilty and a 94 per cent conviction rate – at least 14,228 years of sentencing so far. 'We've still got over 500 defendants waiting to go through the courts and this material being relied on. We will always be grateful to our French and Dutch colleagues who were able to provide this capability. 'I fully expect I won't see anything like it again in my career. It's been inspiring. What you saw was a coming together of all of our capabilities behind a common aim. 'It has been described as the most impactful operation against serious organised crime ever undertaken.'
ABC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Feature Video: Geese - Taxes
New York rockers Geese have caught us completely off guard this week with a stunning work of artistsic misdirection, 'Taxes'. Stick with this one until the end. You will (probably) not regret it. Directed by Noel Paul, whose résumé includes music videos for the likes of Danny Brown, Mitski, Black Midi, Father John Misty and too many more works that will be familiar to regular rage viewers. Noel takes us down, down, down into this slow yet inevitable descent into madness and chaos, with all the bloody violence of a mosh-pit from in the depths of hell, and the painterly sensibilties of a baroque-period master. "The idea of a crowd in a small rock club going crazy came from the band." says Noel of the video's concept. "My approach was to take inspiration from medieval paintings of damned souls writhing in hell and chiaroscuro Caravaggios of people getting tortured and stuff." Observant viewers will be able to pick out all kinds of nods to mostly baroque artworks, emerging out from the tenebrous blackness of the dancefloor; Rubens, Carravaggio, and even some Francisco Goya. But even if you don't catch every musuem-worthy reference, the real intention of all this mayhem is just straight vibes. "To make sure it was more about vibe and less about heavy-handed references, we massively undercranked the camera so the footage would fly by so fast that people wouldn't have time to think about it." Says Noel, of the camera techniques that give the latter half of the video an ethereal, dreamlike quality. "My DoP Lea Taillefer, her team, my movement director Monica Mirabile , and our awesome cast did a great job moving in the way you need to move when you're shooting at such low FPS." With a music video that features crowds clawing at one another in the darkness, it's pretty apt that 'Taxes' arrives as the lead single off of Geese's third studio album Getting Killed, which is due out in September. Like the saying goes, nothing is certain except death and…
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
GTA 5's Yung Ancestor voice actor says he's ready for a GTA 6 comeback
Source: Rockstar Games Rockstar Games has a reputation for secrecy when it comes to casting and features, but fans, and even former cast members, aren't letting that silence them. One of those sounding off is rapper Danny Brown , who portrayed the quirky Yung Ancestor in GTA Online . While doing a recent interview, Brown expressed his desire to come back in GTA 6 and kept the chatter going about bringing back radio hosts and returning characters. Danny Brown expresses strong interest in returning for GTA 6 — GTAonlineNews (@GTAonlineNews) In a conversation with Variety, Danny Brown, who voiced Yung Ancestor and hosted iFruit Radio in GTA Online, expressed his desire to return to the Grand Theft Auto universe. 'I've done a lot of things with GTA. Hopefully they have me back,' he said, noting how much the franchise means to him personally. He also commented on the fact that the project overlapped with a tough time in his life, stating that he was "a drunk fool" then but has now been sober for two years and dedicated to creating music that brings people joy. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trending in in 2025: Local network access control [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo Brown entered GTA Online in 2019 with The Diamond Casino Heist update, playing a radio host as well as an in-game avatar. His Yung Ancestor performance was deranged and iconic, immediately becoming a cult favorite among players. Based on the tradition of radio stations and returning characters in GTA games, everyone expects him to return, given that his logo has already been seen in a GTA 6 screenshot. Subtle hidden hints and compelling fan theories Although Danny Brown can't verify anything with NDAs, fans have caught on to hints pointing towards his comeback. A GTA 6 screenshot shows a character sporting a shirt with the Yung Ancestor logo, a subtle but revealing detail. Whether it's a nostalgic reference or not, Rockstar's track record of using invisible references and future material makes it difficult to rule out. Beyond Danny Brown's potential return, Rockstar's collaboration with musicians continues to blur the lines between gaming and music culture. The series has a long history of integrating original tracks and exclusive artist content, making radio stations and soundtracks an essential part of the immersive experience. As GTA 6 approaches, anticipation grows over which new voices and sounds will help define the game's atmosphere and storytelling. Danny Brown's honesty regarding his past and excitement for a GTA 6 comeback demonstrate how much artists invest in Rockstar's universe. Whether Yung Ancestor makes another appearance or not, the fan talk, and potential teases demonstrate that GTA 6 might be as musically well-stocked and character-focused as its predecessor, and Danny Brown might just be along for the ride. Also Read: Rockstar's map secrets might be GTA 6's most predictable twist yet
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Downtown L.A.'s Graffiti Towers Featured in New Tony Hawk Video Game Remake
Downtown L.A.'s most infamous unfinished skyscrapers have found an unexpected second life — as a backdrop in a video gameOceanwide Plaza, the trio of half-built towers next to Arena, appears to be making a digital cameo in the upcoming Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4. According to Time Out, in a newly released video promoting the game's Los Angeles level, a graffiti-covered high-rise looms in the real Oceanwide Plaza was supposed to be a $1 billion luxury complex with condos, hotels, and high-end shopping. Construction started in 2015 but stalled in 2019 after the Chinese developer ran out of funding. Since then, the towers have sat unfinished The towers gained national attention in 2023 when about 27 floors were tagged with graffiti. While city officials initially promised to remove the tags, the graffiti remains more than a year later, turning Oceanwide into an accidental the game, the towers appear as part of a larger digital homage to L.A., which also includes a recreation Miracle Mile's El Rey Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, which launches July 11, will be previewed during a livestream event hosted at the El Rey on May 8. The invite-only THPS Fest will feature performances by Danny Brown, Lupe Fiasco, Adolescents, and Urethane. Whether Oceanwide Plaza will be cleaned up, demolished or left untouched by the time the 2028 Olympics arrive in Los Angeles remains to be seen. For now, the towers remain standing, and now, part of the Tony Hawk universe. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 releases July 11 across a variety of video game platforms, including Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Steam.
