London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Encrypted messaging system used to procure gun for murder, court hears

Encrypted messaging system used to procure gun for murder, court hears

EncroChat service allegedly used to secure weapon for London killing and to plan another that did not take place
A sophisticated encrypted phone messaging system was used to supply a firearm for a murder and to hatch a failed plot to carry out another killing, an Old Bailey jury has been told at the trial of two men whose secret communications were intercepted.

The so-called EncroChat service was allegedly used to procure a firearm to carry out a murder in London in 2020 and to plan another that did not take place.

Paul Fontaine, 36, was a “criminal middleman” who supplied weapons, drugs and counterfeit currency to other professional criminals, communicating with them on encrypted phones, said the prosecuting counsel, Kevin Dent QC.

In this role, he conspired with others to transfer a firearm that was used in the murder of Abdullahi Mahmoud in March 2020, the court heard. He is charged with conspiracy to supply a firearm in connection with that murder.

Fontaine is also alleged to have conspired with Frankie Sinclair, 34, to murder a rival of Sinclair’s called Keiron Hassan, and others, in the course of a dispute between Sinclair and a rival group.

Sinclair allegedly sought the assistance of Fontaine to procure a handgun and ammunition to carry out a “revenge murder” after his mother’s home in Cardiff had come under attack. Both men are charged with conspiracy to murder.

During the messaging, Fontaine communicated his involvement in the murder of Mahmoud, indicating he had earlier arranged to supply a firearm for a murder, the court heard. Sinclair was alleged to have taken possession of a Walther PPK handgun and ammunition in order to kill Hassan.

Sinclair was involved in a dispute with a rival group that had escalated and led to his mother’s house being targeted by three men armed with firearms and a crossbow in March 2020. He believed that group of men to include or have been directed by Keiron Hassan and he engaged Fontaine’s services to carry out the murder of the attackers, the court heard.

The court heard that Hassan was soon afterwards taken into custody and thus the attack could not take place. Sinclair was said to have also been involved in supplying class A drugs, offences for which he has already pleaded guilty.

“EncroChat devices are like mobile phones but they are highly secure,” said Dent. “They offer higher levels of security. An EncroChat device can only communicate with another EncroChat device, not the kind of mobile you could use for cinema tickets or to order a pizza … each device is assigned a unique handle or name.”

The court heard that Sinclair’s handle was “Nudetrain” and Fontaine’s was
“Usualwolf”.

The handsets cost more than £1,000 and were not available in shops. “It is an expensive product but an extremely useful device for organised criminals to use in order to be able to communicate with others without anyone outside being able to find out,” the court heard.

Although law enforcement agencies had later been able to access the information available on the devices, “at the time users thought that no one else could. We suggest that they [Sinclair and Fontaine] were pretty upfront and explicit, there was no beating about the bush.”

In one communication, Fontaine had indicated that he was short of firearms “because part of his own stock had been used in a murder”. In another message Sinclair asked Fontaine for “sweets”, which the court was told meant bullets, which cost £10 each.

“Need them sweets ain’t looking to waste none,” said another message. A further one read “I need 2 savages so can do 2 glides in 1 wA u saying I pay them,” which the prosecution suggested was Sinclair’s request to Fontaine for extra manpower and cars to assist him.

Another reference in messages was to “duppy”, a slang term for ghost, indicating that death would be involved. Sinclair supposedly referred to the handgun in the messages as a “James Bond ting”.

“They were both also involved in other criminal enterprises,” the court heard. “Paul Fontaine, as part of his role in serving the needs of criminals, was also involved in the supply of heroin and counterfeit currency.”

Both men deny conspiracy to murder and all other charges.

The trial continues.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×