Dateline: Bedford — It began with the fall of an encrypted phone network and ended with some of Bedfordshire’s most dangerous criminals staring down a combined 500 years behind bars.
Operation Costello, a specialist Bedfordshire Police team born in the wake of the EncroChat takedown, has brought sweeping change to the county’s criminal landscape—dismantling drug empires, stripping millions from gang coffers, and shining a light on an underworld that thought it could hide in code.
From EncroChat to Costello
EncroChat was once the preserve of Europe’s most ruthless criminals—a supposedly impenetrable messaging platform used to traffic drugs, weapons, and dirty money in total secrecy. That illusion shattered in 2020, when Operation Venetic, led by French and Dutch police in partnership with the UK’s National Crime Agency and forces across Britain, hacked its servers.
The fallout was seismic. In the UK, Venetic produced 746 arrests, £54 million in criminal cash seized, 77 firearms recovered, and more than two tonnes of drugs taken off the streets. For Bedfordshire—hit harder than most—the intelligence trove revealed entire organised crime groups operating unchecked. The government stepped in with special grant funding, and Operation Costello was born.
The Scorecard
In less than four years, Costello’s numbers tell a story of relentless pursuit:
- Over 200 arrests of top-tier dealers and OCG members
- Nearly 30 kilos of Class A drugs and 185 kilos of cannabis were seized, with a street value topping £2.8 million
- More than 4,500 cannabis plants recovered from drug houses
- Over £7.5 million in criminal assets under investigation
The War on Cannabis Factories
Beyond seizing the drugs already in circulation, Costello has targeted industrial-scale cannabis production, which fuels gang profits. Raids have exposed drug houses packed with specialist lighting rigs, tampered electricity supplies, and chemical stockpiles—all operated by criminal networks exploiting vulnerable people to tend the crops.
Police are urging the public to watch for signs of cannabis factories, including:
- Frequent visitors at odd hours
- Windows blacked out or covered in condensation
- Bright lights on through the night
- Tampered electricity meters or unusual cabling
- Strong, sickly aromas and the constant hum of fans
- Suspicious deliveries of heaters, lighting, compost, or plant pots
A Sustained Offensive
Operation Costello’s remit is simple but unflinching: target the highest echelons of organised crime in Bedfordshire. The team, in collaboration with regional and national units, has targeted the core of gangs involved in the trafficking of Class A drugs and the laundering of their profits through seemingly legitimate means.
“Costello is about taking the fight directly to those making millions from misery,” a Bedfordshire Police spokesperson said. “We’ve jailed the most senior offenders, seized the drugs before they hit our streets, and stripped the cash they thought they’d hidden away. But we’re not finished.”
