The Narco Hack review – an epic tale of how detectives’ tech wizardry smashed a billion-euro drugs ring
Human heroism is celebrated in profoundly personal ways in this extraordinary tale of a mind-boggling investigation into massive criminal organisations. It’s part The Wire, part The Imitation Game We begin with the audio of a horrifying call made to the French police in 2020. Two men are driving home when their car is attacked. The police ask for the caller’s name as bullets ricochet around the vehicle. “Who cares…
Key points
- The Narco Hack is a three-part documentary on HBO Max about police compromising Sky ECC encryption.
- French, Belgian and Dutch police used the hack to undermine several massive criminal organisations.
- The investigation uncovered billions of euros, mainly laundered via cryptocurrency, and Dubai-resident drug lords.
The Narco Hack, a three-part documentary on HBO Max, recounts how French, Belgian and Dutch police compromised the encryption software of an app called Sky ECC to undermine several massive criminal organisations. The film opens with audio of a 2020 call to French police in which a man, later identified as mechanic Houcine Hakkar, reports an attack on his car; his companion is killed seconds later. The article states that this killing was planned and discussed in detail on Sky ECC.
How the app worked
Sky ECC was developed by a company called Sky Global, apparently with lawyers and journalists in mind. The app was designed to strip phones of all their normal features, leaving just itself; when the app was shut down, the phones deactivated, and the phones could be wiped remotely. A drug dealer identified as Albert says of the company: “At Sky, they knew very well that it wasn’t going to be choirboys buying it.” Thomas Herdman, who worked for the company, is interviewed and offers a defence the article describes as unconvincing.
Who cares what we’re called? I’m going to die!
— the caller to French police
Detectives and dilemmas
The documentary features extensive interviews with the police involved, including prosecutor Johanna Brousse and an eccentric cybercrime specialist called Bertillon, who appears via a series of AI-rendered face-swaps. The article says the various police jurisdictions did not agree on priorities: the Belgians wanted to stop drugs and guns moving, while the French wanted to identify suspects and follow them. Detectives also faced the question of how much to reveal, knowing that acting hastily would only land small fry.
The article reports that the investigation uncovered billions of euros, mainly laundered via cryptocurrency, and Dubai-resident drug lords calling themselves names such as Saddam Hussein, Putin and Hitler. It adds that the hack cleared Hakkar’s name, showing his murder had been a terrible mistake, and that his sister speaks about her brother in the film.
