Channel 4’s 24 Hours in Police Custody is set to return next week with a new episode focusing on Bedfordshire Police investigations into organised drug networks operating through encrypted communications.
The programme revisits some of the force’s most complex cases, including criminal activity linked directly to Luton, and offers viewers an inside look at how detectives dismantled county lines operations stretching across the region and beyond.
The episode, titled The Secret Network and filmed in 2020, centres on the use of the EncroChat platform by organised crime groups to co-ordinate serious offences. Investigators uncover the scale of criminality hidden within the encrypted system, including messages connected to a Luton-based offender involved in the supply of drugs and weapons, as well as a wider network importing and distributing drugs at scale.
One investigation featured in the programme reveals how detailed digital analysis exposed messages from a Luton-linked suspect boasting about providing firearms for a violent attack. That evidence ultimately led to his arrest. Running alongside this, detectives follow intelligence up the chain of a separate drug supply network, identifying a key supplier and importer by targeting high-risk offenders.
The episode also documents the early stages of Operation Costello, Bedfordshire Police’s largest ever operation targeting serious and organised crime. Since its launch in 2020, the operation has resulted in 279 arrests, 544 years of sentencing, the seizure of 49 weapons and the recovery of 10 firearms. Officers have also seized large quantities of drugs, including cannabis, cocaine and heroin.
Detective Chief Superintendent Duncan Young, who oversees the force’s intelligence command, said: “Our long standing partnership of over a decade with 24 Hours in Police Custody gives the public a transparent view of the realities of modern policing. It shows the skill, determination and compassion our officers bring to every single case, and I’m proud of the professionalism on display throughout this episode.
“The harm caused by drugs is the common thread running through so much of the criminality we deal with. Drug supply fuels violence, exploitation and fear in our communities, and remains one of our highest priorities. By exposing how these organised networks operate and demonstrating the tireless work that goes into dismantling them, we hope the public will have a stronger understanding of both the scale of the threat and of our commitment to tackling it.”
The episode airs on Tuesday 13 January.
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