Chilling EncroChat messages reveal a British cocaine kingpin plotting the murder of a rival from his luxury Dubai villa – and the moment his gang realised police were on to them.
James Harding, 34, and his ‘loyal right-hand man’ Jayes Kharouti, 39, ran a vast criminal empire that trafficked an estimated £100million worth of cocaine into the UK.
They tried to recruit a hitman to put an unnamed rival courier ‘permanently out of business’, arming him with a gun and ammunition for the ‘full M’ – meaning murder.
Following their conviction at the Old Bailey trial, MailOnline has obtained EncroChat logs which reveal how they went about planning the hit.
Harding is shown offering £100,000 for the murder and ordering that the assassin carry out a ‘double tap’ shot to the head and chest.
He was of course unaware that the Met could read EncroChat messages after the platform’s encryption was cracked by French police.
But after the arrest of an associate, Harding gang are seen panicking as they realise ‘the feds’ are closing in on them.
‘We’re f****d,’ Kharouti writes.
Kharouti was extradited from Turkey to the UK on June 25 last year – arriving on a private jet at a London airport, where he was met by armed police
At the time he was putting together the plot, Harding was posing as a high-end watch salesman and enjoying a luxury lifestyle in Dubai, where he stayed in five-star hotels and drove Bugatti and Lamborghini sports cars.
On EncroChat, Harding used the nickname ‘thetopsking’ while his deputy Kharouti went by the handles ‘besttops’ and ‘topsybricks’, prosecutors said.
A message sent on April 3, 2020 shows Harding discussing the idea of a ‘cryp robbery’ – meaning taking drugs from a courier.
This later escalated into a murder plot.
The defendants are seen talking about how and where the murder would take place, with £100,000 offered as payment to the hitman, who was to be recruited by their associate Jimmy Gottshalk, 37, known on EncroChat as ‘Notnice’
The proposed location was an isolated car park near Nower Wood nature reserve in Leatherhead, Surrey, with Kharouti saying this was ‘the perfect location’ because the victim would ‘be dead for hours’ without anyone coming across his body.
Kharouti tells Gottshalk that he already has a gun and a Yamaha TMAX scooter with ‘legit plates’ ready, prompting Gottshalk to reply that it was ‘a dream job for a killer’.
Subsequent messages show Kharouti keeping his boss informed about the plan.
The initial proposed location for the hit was this isolated car park near Nower Wood nature reserve in Leatherhead, Surrey
At one point, Harding tells him the hit should involve a ‘double tap’ shot to the head and chest.
The original plan to kill the courier by the Surrey nature reserve was later called off due to a delay over transport for the hitman.
But the men worked on alternative solutions – even arranging the shooting near to the proposed gunman’s home.
The alleged hitman was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder in the early hours of June 3, 2020, which the defendants were unaware of.
However, they became suspicious after two drug runners were arrested on May 20, 2020 with 10kg of cocaine hidden in the back of their car.
‘Feds onto encros bro,’ Kharouti writes, describing the arrest as ‘not normal’.
He later adds that he is going to ‘switch off’ his device and describes himself as ‘f****d’.
On Tuesday, Harding and Kharouti were found guilty of conspiracy to murder while Harding was also convicted of conspiring with others to import cocaine, which Kharouti, of Epsom, Surrey, had previously admitted.
At the time he was putting together the plot, Harding was posing as a high-end watch salesman and enjoying a luxury lifestyle in Dubai
Harding in the pool area at the Waldorf Hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai
They were remanded into custody to be sentenced today.
The duo’s Old Bailey trial was held amid heightened security, with an armed police escort to and from the central London court and prison.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC told the court how the defendants discussed importing a tonne of cocaine over a period of 10 weeks.
Harding, who had previous convictions for drugs and false documents, was arrested at Geneva airport in Switzerland on December 27, 2021 and extradited from Switzerland.
Kharouti was extradited from Turkey to the UK on June 25 last year – arriving on a private jet at a London airport, where he was met by armed police.
In the video, an officer says ‘Mr Harding, welcome back,’ to which the criminal replies: ‘Oh, thanks very much.’
The kingpin was then arrested, handed a bulletproof vest and bundled into an armoured police van.
Mr Atkinson told an earlier hearing that the pair were responsible for ‘approximately 50 importations of cocaine into the UK with a total weight of approximately 1,000 kilograms.
The kingpin’s EncroChat messages showed him discussing hiring a private jet
Harding sent selfies on the EncroChat encrypted service while using the same phone to arrange the hit
Harding used his encrypted phone to arrange multi-kilo cocaine deals
The luxury accommodation in Al Barari, Dubai, where Harding plotted the murder
An interior photo of Harding’s lavish Dubai residence
The barrister said the gangsters made £60-70,000 per importation, and about £5m in profit overall in just 10 weeks.
However, the total street value of all the drugs they sold was thought to be around £100million.
Giving evidence, Harding denied using the handle ‘the topsking’, saying it belonged to an ‘intimate’ male partner called TK, who he refused to identify.
He had shared selfies on the device at the same time as arranging the plot.
Harding also used his EncroChat handle to book a table for his family at the Nusr et Steakhouse in Dubai – a creation of internet superstar Nusret ‘Salt Bae’ Gökçe.
The handle was linked with a number ending ‘9627’ which was used to book flights in Harding’s name to Dubai and Geneva in Harding’s name between 9 February and 4 March 2020.
He also booked a Mother’s Day meal at a restaurant at the Four Seasons resort in Dubai using the handle and bragged about taking his ‘mrs’ out to the Zumas Japanese restaurant using the same name.
The case formed part of a wider operation targeting criminals who used EncroChat.
The drugs seizure that made the gang realise police had access to EncroChat messages
Police also seized massive bundles of banknotes
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Casey, who led the investigation, said: ‘This conviction sends a clear message: no matter how sophisticated the methods, criminals cannot hide behind encrypted software.
‘This operation dismantled a major supply chain and is a testament to the relentless work of our officers.
‘We monitored their drug-dealing activity but then we saw the group discussing the contract killing of a rival. We moved fast to protect those in danger.
‘Harding and Kharouti planned to kill, we stopped that and put them before the courts.’
Detective Inspector Driss Hayoukane, who oversaw the Met’s EncroChat operation, said: ‘Thanks to the tenacity and commitment from Met officers, over 500 criminals have been successfully convicted since the EncroChat platform was cracked back in 2020, leading to well over 5,000 years of sentences being handed down to those involved.
‘This represents our commitment to combating illegal drug supply, as well as the serious violence that comes with it.
‘Our work doesn’t stop here – we will continue to pursue those who profit from bringing harm to our communities and will continue to deliver our mission of reducing crime.’
Previously, Calvin Crump, 29, of Redhill, Surrey; Khuram Ahmed, 38, of Slough; and Peter Thompson, 61 of south-west London, had admitted the cocaine conspiracy charge with Thompson also pleading guilty to possession of a pistol. A man alleged to have been the proposed hitman was cleared.
