New “24 Hours in Police Custody” episode exposes encrypted drug networks in Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire Police will feature in a brand new episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody airing on Tuesday 13 January, which highlights the force’s investigations into organised crime groups operating through encrypted messaging platforms.

The episode, titled The Secret Network, takes viewers behind the scenes of Bedfordshire Police’s efforts to dismantle sophisticated county lines networks and other serious criminal activity coordinated via the platform EncroChat.

Filmed in 2020, the programme follows detectives as they uncover the scale and complexity of the criminality hidden within the encrypted system. In one case, messages linked to a Luton-based offender reveal involvement in the supply of weapons and drugs, including boasting about providing firearms for a violent attack, which led to his arrest.

Another investigation in the episode focuses on dismantling a wider drug supply network, with detectives targeting high-risk offenders and following intelligence up the chain to identify a key supplier and importer connected to the group.

The episode also captures the early stages of Operation Costello, Bedfordshire Police’s largest initiative targeting serious and organised crime. Since 2020, the operation has resulted in 279 arrests, 544 years in sentencing, the seizure of 49 weapons and 10 firearms, and large quantities of drugs, including 288kg of cannabis, 7,551 cannabis plants, 26kg of cocaine and 2.6kg of heroin.

Detective Chief Superintendent Duncan Young, who oversees the force’s Intelligence command, said:

"Our long-standing partnership with 24 Hours in Police Custody gives the public a transparent view of modern policing. The harm caused by drugs fuels violence, exploitation, and fear in our communities. By exposing how these organised networks operate and showing the work that goes into dismantling them, we hope the public gains a stronger understanding of both the scale of the threat and our commitment to tackling it."

Bedfordshire Police is also encouraging anyone inspired by the programme to consider a career in policing, from investigating serious crime to safeguarding vulnerable people and tackling organised criminal networks.