Amsterdam, 3 February 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Police in the Netherlands and other EU countries on Friday arrested 42 people in raids on dozens of premises after Dutch investigators hacked an organized crime group's secured communications network.

According to authorities in The Hague, investigators succeeded in penetrating the specially encrypted communication service and were able to read five months' worth of messages without being detected.

On Friday, the service was closed down and the operators were arrested in a coordinated international sting on the group's activities. As well as the Netherlands, police in Belgium, Germany, France, Sweden and Italy took part.

During the raids, officers discovered two drug laboratories and a cocaine 'laundry' - where the drug is dissolved and infused into fabric for retrieval later. They also seized narcotics, weapons and four million euros.

Dutch investigators had been targeting the operators since 2020 and cooperated closely with colleagues in neighbouring countries, working also in the framework of Eurojust and Europol.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the communication service had some 3,000 active users, 750 of them Dutch speakers. For €1,600 ($1,728) a year, criminals were able to exchange reports and photos.

Police successfully intercepted criminals' communication channels in previous operations. In 2020, more than 100 people were arrested after operatives hacked the EncroChat service.