Criminals have been found using encrypted terms in an attempt to disguise their illicit dealings from police. One such form of communication was unravelled after the imprisonment of one drug dealer exposed how one regular word had a dark hidden meaning.
Waheed Zaman communicated with a fellow accomplice through the EncroChat messaging service. In messages, the 43-year-old from Walsall used the term "sweets" to refer to ammunition for an illegal weapon.
He used the encrypted messaging service, which was shut down in June, 2020, to arrange deals for a Czech-manufactured Skorpion machine pistol as well as Class A drugs, Birmingham Live reports Read more: Ex-jockey's sick cruelty exposed after 'absolutely horrific' footage emerges Read more: Greater Manchester Police detective appears in court charged with sex offences against a woman Zaman, who went by the username 'Naturalmist', discussed the deal with his co-conspirator Aweis Bashir, 27, who went by 'Blackskull' before changing his username to 'LouisVitton.com'.
On April 3, 2020, Bashir contacted Zaman, however, he did not recognise the username and asked who it was. Bashir replied: "Who you got the scorp off bro." Zaman then responded: "Any joy with sweets".
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