From luxury hotels and high-end restaurants in Dubai to a courtroom in London facing charges of attempted murder—James Harding’s criminal empire came crashing down in dramatic fashion.
Living it up in sports cars and five-star suites, Harding posed as a watch dealer.
But behind the glitzy façade, he was orchestrating a violent plan to eliminate a rival.
Harding, 34, along with his trusted associate Jayes Kharouti, 39, were running a massive drug smuggling operation from afar—raking in £5 million in profits in just 10 weeks.
Their grip on the underworld extended across borders, but it was cracked open by a digital key.
EncroChat: The Criminals’ Secret Tool Turned Evidence
The downfall of this sophisticated operation stemmed from a tech breakthrough.
Harding and Kharouti relied heavily on EncroChat, an encrypted messaging platform popular among criminals.
What they didn’t know was that French authorities had cracked it—and passed the evidence straight to the UK.
Within the leaked data, Scotland Yard uncovered chilling discussions.
The pair weren’t just moving cocaine—they were plotting murder.
Harding sent selfies from the same phone he used to arrange the hit. Talk about careless.
The Murder Plot That Never Happened
The plan was brutal and cold-blooded. Harding and Kharouti wanted to take out a rival courier for good.
The goal? A “full M”—their code for murder.
They armed a hitman with a gun and ammo and offered a six-figure payday.
Harding gave explicit instructions for a “double tap” shot to the head and chest.
But before anything could go ahead, the suspected hitman was quietly arrested on June 3, 2020.
Harding and Kharouti had no idea their plan had already been intercepted.
Still thinking the job was in motion, they raised the hit fee from £100,000 to £120,000.
Another EncroChat user tried negotiating it up to £200,000.
From Dubai to the Docks: Harding’s Criminal Footprint
Harding wasn’t just dabbling in crime—he was running a full-blown operation.
Prosecutors revealed that over 10 weeks in 2020, the gang smuggled around 1,000 kilograms of cocaine into the UK, split into smaller packages for distribution.
Harding used the alias “thetopsking” on EncroChat.
Kharouti had handles like “besttops” and “topsybricks.”
They discussed robberies, drug deliveries, and violent plans with chilling casualness.
When not plotting crime, Harding was booking meals for his family at Dubai hotspots like Salt Bae’s Nusr-Et steakhouse and the Four Seasons.
He messaged about relaxing weekends at luxury resorts, even sending poolside pics from the Waldorf Astoria.
Fancy Restaurants, Secret Murders, and Digital Trails
Harding thought he was being clever. But the same handle he used to plan a hit was also used to book flights, dinners, and holidays.
Investigators cross-referenced everything—from his Dubai and Geneva trips to restaurant reservations—tying the alias directly back to him.
He tried to pin the messages on someone he called “TK,” an unnamed intimate male partner, but the court wasn’t buying it.
Every detail in the chats, including his prison history, aligned with Harding’s own life.
Arrests and Extraditions: The Net Tightens
Harding’s glamorous hideaway didn’t save him for long.
Swiss police arrested him at Geneva Airport in December 2021.
By May 2022, he was back in the UK, met by armed officers at Heathrow.
One greeted him with, “Mr Harding, welcome back,” to which he cheekily replied, “Oh, thanks very much.”
Kharouti had been hiding out in Turkey but was also brought back to the UK the following June.
Their Old Bailey trial came with armed escorts and high security—fitting for two men accused of murder conspiracy and a cocaine empire.
The Verdict Is In: Guilty
Both men were found guilty of plotting to kill the courier.
Harding was also convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine.
Kharouti had already admitted to the drug charges. Three others from their gang had previously pleaded guilty.
Among their contacts was Calvin Crump, aka “brickmover,” who was asked to source guns, cars, and shooters.
Crump reached out to another EncroChat user called “notnice,” who then brought in a man nicknamed “randommist” for the job.
These aliases read like a twisted criminal phonebook.
An Operation That Rocked the Underworld
Prosecutors described Harding as the brains of the operation, while Kharouti handled the logistics. It was a large-scale, high-risk business.
One court hearing estimated they earned £60,000 to £70,000 for each smuggling run, adding up to millions in a matter of weeks.
But once the murder plot surfaced, police moved quickly.
Detectives said they were monitoring drug trafficking, but when they saw messages about a contract killing, they sprang into action to protect lives.
Police React to the Major Breakthrough
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Casey, who led the case, said the conviction proves criminals can’t hide behind encryption.
“No matter how sophisticated the methods, we will find them,” he said. “We dismantled a major supply chain and stopped a murder before it could happen.”
Detective Inspector Driss Hayoukane added that over 500 criminals have been convicted thanks to the EncroChat breakthrough in 2020, leading to more than 5,000 years in total jail time.
“Our work doesn’t stop here,” he emphasized. “We will continue to pursue those who profit from bringing harm to our communities.”
What’s Next for Harding and Kharouti?
The two men are now in custody and will be sentenced on Thursday.
Their story serves as a chilling reminder that even from a luxury suite in Dubai, crime can’t hide forever.
Behind the Lamborghinis, luxury meals, and designer watches was a criminal empire built on drugs, deception—and nearly, death.