Inside Operation Venetic: Clue’s Matt Horne featured in major new Channel 4 documentary

Clue Software’s Director of Intelligence and Investigations, Matt Horne, features prominently in Channel 4’s gripping new documentary, Operation Dark Phone: Murder By Text – a four-part series that takes viewers inside Operation Venetic, the UK’s largest and most significant law enforcement operation targeting organised crime.

Before joining Clue, Matt served as Deputy Director of the National Crime Agency (NCA) and was Gold Commander of Operation Venetic. Under his leadership, the operation brought down EncroChat, an encrypted communications platform with 60,000 users worldwide, used almost exclusively by criminals. The results were unprecedented:

• 746 arrests
• Over £54 million in criminal cash seized
• 77 firearms recovered
• More than two tonnes of drugs taken off the streets

The operation dismantled entire organised crime groups operating across the UK, marking a major milestone in the fight against serious and organised crime.

“We knew from our intelligence that EncroChat was being used by organised crime gangs in a way that we could not see; orchestrating and organising the importation of firearms, money laundering, conspiring to cause serious violence or even to kill – all of that needs them to be able to link up,” Matt says in episode one of Operation Dark Phone.

“And that’s exactly what EncroChat was for them – it was a bit like a LinkedIn of organised crime in the criminal underworld.”

Matt’s insight into encrypted communications, intelligence-led policing, and the evolution of criminal networks is also featured in our Joining the Dots podcast, where he reflects on his career and the changing threat landscape. A special upcoming episode will delve even deeper into Operation Venetic and its lasting impact.

Watch Operation Dark Phone: Murder By Text now on Channel 4 or book a call with Matt to explore how Clue and our team of experts can support your intelligence and investigative operations.