Privy Council Review of intercept as evidence: report - Official ...

e put into practice. Or an intercepted message may give the go-ahead for
the crime itself, allowing the police to be in position to arrest the criminals redhanded.
Interception of a highly professional international group involved in trafficking
Class A drugs revealed the intention to import a large consignment. As the
plan developed it identified individuals recruited to transport and receive the
drugs. The intercepted calls were in coded language which could have been
attributed to legitimate activity. The group evidently had a lot of knowledge
of covert techniques, but not enough understanding of how they are used to
provide effective security.
Continued interception revealed new timings for the importation and travel
arrangements for those involved. This enabled officers to observe the
collection of the drugs, arrest two of the principals, and seize 20 kilograms of
heroin, over 20 firearms, and over 1000 rounds of ammunition.
39. Interception after a crime has been committed can lead police to the
suspects and allow them to recover the proceeds.
Interception of two men suspected of being involved in a recent major armed
robbery confirmed their involvement and showed how they were responding
to the police investigation. It also identified others involved, who were
themselves intercepted. The speed at which coverage was put in place
prevented the robbers from removing the proceeds overseas. It gave
opportunities to gather physical evidence and allowed several arrests and
the recovery of substantial sums of money.
40. Interception is of particular value in dealing with the substantial number
of kidnaps for ransom or revenge within the criminal community. For obvious
reasons such kidnaps are never reported to the police. But for interception of
those involved, the police would not even know that a kidnap was happening.
With interception the police are
regularly able to intervene to
save the victim’s life, or even to
prevent the kidnap from ever
taking place. Since the victims
are usually unwilling to testify,
these crimes seldom result in
prosecutions. As a result of
interception and other tools no
life has been lost in such a
kidnap since 1999.
41. These results owe much
to the flexible and efficient way
in which interception can support
operations with minimal
bureaucracy. There is very
close cooperation between those
monitoring the intercepted lines
In 2007 a person contacted police
reporting the kidnap of a friend over a
debt. A third party was apparently
negotiating in isolation and refusing to
cooperate with the police. A further
party was also negotiating without
cooperating fully with the police. The
situation was further complicated by
direction from members of the criminal
group abroad. Interception over several
days confirmed that the hostage,
although injured, was alive. It allowed
police to control the developing situation
to the point where a significant sum of
money was paid and the hostage
released. This triggered the arrest of all
involved in the kidnap, and the recovery
of the ransom.
Chapter II
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