Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text

The incredible inside story of a huge police operation to infiltrate dangerous global crime gangs through their encrypted phone network. Operation Dark Phone : Murder by Text is the inside story the biggest ever joint law enforcement operation against a global network of organised crime groups who believed their encrypted phones were safe. Until a collaboration between international authorities - led in the UK by the National Crime Agency - managed to hack their phones to reveal the astonishing details of their messages. For the first time since the EncroChat network was infiltrated in 2020, the messages sent and the criminals exposed are exclusively revealed in a four part documentary series that tells the story in compelling and shocking detail. For 74 frantic days the authorities could read all the messages and sought to save lives and bring down the gangs, before the criminals realised their data was being captured.

Directed by Zac Beattie, Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text leans on a strong ensemble — Kenny Blyth, Russell Anthony, Chris Eastwood — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about crime titles of 2025.