A new BBC 5 Live true crime podcast about drugs, money laundering, and attempted murder is launching on BBC Sounds, and BBC Radio 4 from 7 January.

Gangster Presents... Catching the Kingpins tells the fascinating inside story of how the police infiltrated the EncroChat phone network. The secret encrypted network was popular with criminal gangs in the UK and Europe and the resulting bust led to thousands of arrests and hundreds of prosecutions.

Hosted by investigative journalist, Mobeen Azhar, the six-part podcast follows the real-life, pan-Europe police sting and provides us with extraordinary real-life tales, and unexpected discoveries. Some of the stories uncovered include exposing:

Two seemingly legitimate businessmen, living in a suburban Buckinghamshire village whose wealth came from cocaine trafficking and major league money laundering
A corrupt police officer who was working for a notorious London crime group
A murder plot unearthed by the Metropolitan Police in a joint operation with South Wales police.
Mobeen says: “This podcast is about more than arrests and prosecutions. It's the story of the Metropolitan Police’s role in the biggest organised crime bust in British policing history, led by the National Crime Agency. We detail just how organised the world of organised crime in the UK is right now. We explore how smart technology plays a pivotal role. We gained genuine access to the Metropolitan Police detectives who solved the crime so, expect first-hand accounts of how clues were pieced together, evidence was collected and cases against career criminals were built.”

Each episode focuses on a different case, with an over-arching narrative that details how these gangs used EncroChat to aid their criminal endeavours. Talking exclusively to BBC Sounds, Metropolitan Police officers reveal how they used the criminals’ messages to uncover arms dealing, expose murder plots, major drug trafficking, and money laundering operations.

Speaking of cracking the encrypted phone network, DCI Driss Hayoukane, the Senior Investigating Officer who led the Met’s EncroChat operation, said: “It was like being in a room with them and they are talking freely, and they don't see you there.”

Mobeen added: “Every episode builds on the last. The access is astounding and so are the stories. The Metropolitan Police even share how this operation revealed corruption amongst their own staff.

At a time when the Met are often in the headlines for the wrong reasons, this is rare insight into an extraordinarily successful bust.”

Gangster Presents... Catching the Kingpins is available to hear as a boxset on BBC Sounds from Sunday 7 January, and weekly on BBC Radio 4 at 1.30 pm. It is a BBC Radio 5 Live commission. The podcast is produced by BBC Studios, the producer is Andrew Hosken and the executive producer is Innes Bowen. It was commissioned by Louise Kattenhorn for BBC 5 Live and Radio 4.