The investigations into the messenger called “Exclu” began in autumn 2020, the news agency reported AFP with reference to Dutch authorities. In the meantime, the entire platform has been closed and investigations are being conducted against many users. For example, there were 79 searches in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The investigators had previously followed communication on the platform for over five months and evaluated the messages. Of course, it was also necessary to identify the people behind the messages. In addition to the authorities from the countries mentioned, authorities from France, Italy and Sweden as well as Europol were also involved.
Extensive finds
According to the Dutch police, at least two drug laboratories, a cocaine processing plant, several kilograms of drugs, four million euros in cash, luxury goods and weapons were seized during the raids. To date, there have also been 42 arrests, including not only users but also the operators of the messenger platform. It remains to be seen how many convictions this will lead to.
Exclu worked like a normal messenger, allowing you to exchange messages, photos, notes, voice memos, chats and videos with other users. But everything should be massively protected against observation by third parties. This was not cheap: a license for six months cost 800 euros. Nevertheless, around 3,000 people used the platform to communicate with possible business partners, 750 of them alone probably came from the Netherlands.
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