MPC was a company that provided encrypted phones to criminals. [1]
Background
James and Barries Gillespie were brothers involved in crime in Glasgow. [1] They moved to Portugal to avoid being killed in a gang war while running their business. [1] Scottish police have named their gang the Escalade Group. [1]
Encrypted phones
Initially the brothers used phones from Ennetcom. [1] They then hired developers to develop an operating system for their own phones and distributed them to their own gang and others they worked for. [1] They began selling the phones to other gangs. [1]
They sponsored blogger Martin Kok and ran advertisements. [1] [2]
They also used intimidation tactics against mobile phone resellers. [1]
The phones they adapted were Nexus 5 or Nexus 5X models. [1]
Murder of Martin Kok
On 8 December 2017 Martin Kok was shot dead outside a sex club in Laren, Netherlands. [3] Christopher Hughes faced charges of concealing money and supplying encrypted devices to others (including Kok), a second charge relating to the supply of cocaine and a final charge in relation to the murder of Kok. [4] In April 2022 Hughes was convicted at the High Court in Stirling, Scotland and jailed for at least 25 years. [5]
Ridouan Taghi is also linked to the murder. [2]
The motive for the murder was blog posts that annoyed Moroccan crime figures with links to the Gillespie brothers. The brothers lulled Kok into a false sense of security by sponsoring him and running adverts on his site. They then arranged for him to be murdered by their associates. [2]
Status
As of October 2019 the company is closed. [1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cox, Joseph (2019-10-22). "Inside the Phone Company Secretly Run By Drug Traffickers". Motherboard. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ a b c Cox, Joseph (2018-10-24). "Encrypted Phone Company Helped Plan Crime Blogger's Murder, Cops and Source Say". Motherboard. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ Barnes, David (2018-02-08). "The Strange Life of a Murderer Turned Crime Blogger". Wired. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ "Man denies role in sex club murder of Dutch crime writer". BBC News. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Scottish gangster lured crime writer to 'execution' outside sex club". STV News. 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
MPC was a company that provided encrypted phones to criminals. [1]
Background
James and Barries Gillespie were brothers involved in crime in Glasgow. [1] They moved to Portugal to avoid being killed in a gang war while running their business. [1] Scottish police have named their gang the Escalade Group. [1]
Encrypted phones
Initially the brothers used phones from Ennetcom. [1] They then hired developers to develop an operating system for their own phones and distributed them to their own gang and others they worked for. [1] They began selling the phones to other gangs. [1]
They sponsored blogger Martin Kok and ran advertisements. [1] [2]
They also used intimidation tactics against mobile phone resellers. [1]
The phones they adapted were Nexus 5 or Nexus 5X models. [1]
Murder of Martin Kok
On 8 December 2017 Martin Kok was shot dead outside a sex club in Laren, Netherlands. [3] Christopher Hughes faced charges of concealing money and supplying encrypted devices to others (including Kok), a second charge relating to the supply of cocaine and a final charge in relation to the murder of Kok. [4] In April 2022 Hughes was convicted at the High Court in Stirling, Scotland and jailed for at least 25 years. [5]
Ridouan Taghi is also linked to the murder. [2]
The motive for the murder was blog posts that annoyed Moroccan crime figures with links to the Gillespie brothers. The brothers lulled Kok into a false sense of security by sponsoring him and running adverts on his site. They then arranged for him to be murdered by their associates. [2]
Status
As of October 2019 the company is closed. [1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cox, Joseph (2019-10-22). "Inside the Phone Company Secretly Run By Drug Traffickers". Motherboard. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ a b c Cox, Joseph (2018-10-24). "Encrypted Phone Company Helped Plan Crime Blogger's Murder, Cops and Source Say". Motherboard. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ Barnes, David (2018-02-08). "The Strange Life of a Murderer Turned Crime Blogger". Wired. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ "Man denies role in sex club murder of Dutch crime writer". BBC News. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Scottish gangster lured crime writer to 'execution' outside sex club". STV News. 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-05-31.