A new Al Jazeera documentary has shed light on how SkyCECC, an encrypted communications app founded by Canadian Jean-François Eap in 2013, became one of the world's largest criminal communication networks, used by drug traffickers and organised crime groups across Europe and beyond. Europol (the European Union's law enforcement agency) discovered the app's servers were located in France, enabling French courts to authorise surveillance; officers intercepted roughly one billion messages over 18 months, preventing 114 murders and seizing 121 tonnes of drugs, including 16 tonnes of cocaine in what is described as Europe's largest-ever single narcotics seizure. Eap, who charged users around €200 per month for advanced encryption features, has denied knowingly facilitating criminal activity, and Canadian authorities have yet to prosecute him, raising broader questions about the legal accountability of encryption companies and the future of digital privacy as the EU prepares new rules that could allow authorities to intercept services such as WhatsApp and Signal.