Alleged 'cocaine boss sent selfies from Dubai on same EncroChat phone used to arrange importations and murder plot' court hears

A British man, accused of being a "multi-million pound cocaine kingpin who organised a murder from his luxury Dubai base, sent selfies on the same encrypted phone he used to arrange the hit," a court has heard.

An Old Bailey jury was shown two photographs (above) of James Harding, 34, posing in a gym and a bathroom in a UAE address.

They were allegedly sent by him on April 8 2020 to an associate on an EncroChat mobile phone, that he was also using around the same time to arrange multi-kilo cocaine deals and a planned murder.

Harding, whose family originate from Hampshire, is alleged to have been in control of a cocaine importation operation that generated £5 million of profits in the space of just ten weeks with importations arranged through the encrypted devices the National Crime Agency (NCA) says was used exclusively by organised criminals.

Harding denies being the user of an EncroChat handle called "thetopsking" who sent messages concerning a multi-million pound cocaine network and the plot to murder of an unnamed drug runner.

He pleaded not guilty to one count of evading a prohibition on the importation of cocaine and another of conspiracy to murder.

Jayes Kharouti, 39, from Epsom, Surrey, who is alleged to be Harding's right hand man, has admitted on November 8 2024 being the EncroChat users "besttops" and "topsybricks" one count of evading a prohibition on the importation of cocaine, but denies any involvement in the murder conspiracy.

The court heard that from 2019 to 2022 Harding held a UAE Residence Permit which listed him as a “sales executive" who was sponsored by a luxury watch company.

The jury was told 9,136 messages sent via EncroChat between "besttops" and "thetopsking" between March and June 2020.

At the time they were unaware French police had infiltrated the encrypted platform in April 2020 and had made historic and ongoing messages available to police across Europe, including the NCA, which investigated and handed other cases to local police forces, including the Met Police.

Duncan Atkinson KC, prosecuting, said Harding had been so assured by the EncroChat encryption, that he sent "pictures of himself to people who clearly knew him" and "made reference to locations and events" at which he could be shown to have been present.

Some of the images Harding sent were of his four-bedroom villa at luxurious The Nest development in Al Barari, Dubai, where each of the 55 units have floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a swimming pool and a maid’s and driver’s room.

The court heard that on May 6 2020, thetopsking told a number of contacts that he was taking his “Mrs” out that evening, and added to one that he was taking her to Zuma, an award-winning Japanese restaurant in Dubai.

Investigations by the Met Police later discovered that Harding's personal mobile phone number and email address were used to reserve a table for two at Zuma on the same date under his name.

Mr Atkinson said: "Was thetopsking using the defendant’s contact details to book a table for two, or was the defendant one of those two?"

Harding had also used the same email and phone to book a 350,000 Dirham (£71,108) private plane for Kharouti to fly back to the UK after his father died, the court heard.

On May 14 2020, thetopsking messaged that he was staying at the five-star Waldorf hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, for the weekend, and sent an image of the hotel pool area via EncroChat.

Mr Atkinson said: "Enquiries with the Hilton Hotel Group showed that Harding stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in the United Arab Emirates and gave (his) mobile telephone number and produced a UAE identification card. During the stay, thetopsking had sent an image of James Harding relaxing on a sunlounger at, of all places, the Waldorf.

"Was thetopsking staying at the same hotel as Harding at the same time, and sending images of Harding at its pool for some unexplained reason or was thetopsking in fact James Harding?

"Had thetopsking registered at the hotel using the photo ID of someone else, or had the hotel received photo ID from James Harding because he is thetopsking?

"What is more, he was not staying at the hotel alone. Thetopsking said he was staying with his partner, “Mills” and his brother – and sure enough, this defendant’s partner, brother and daughter Milly were staying there as well."

The court heard that on March 26 2020, thetopsking told a contact via EncroChat that he had finally 'got back' a Lamborghini and sent with it an image of the dashboard.

Allowing for the time difference, the time on the dashboard display matched the time of thetopsking message, as they had been set to UK timings by investigators.

Mr Atkinson said: "The person who took the image caught their leg in the photograph, and on that leg is a tattoo which matches the tattoo on James Harding’s leg."

Harding was also connected to the EncroChat device through comments he made about his fitness routine and weight that matched with his Nike Running app, which was also interrogated by investigators, the court heard.

Harding recorded his weight on the app as 170 pounds (just over 77kgs) and on May 2 2020, thetopsking told a contact he weighed 77kg.

On May 18 2020 thetopsking messaged that he had just run 6km, and, according to the app, that morning Harding had run 6.13km, on a route starting and ending at his Al Barari villa.

On March 21 2020, thetopsking messaged a handle called "best.accountant", who was later discovered to be his brother George Harding, saying “going Nusret (a restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort in Dubai) 4pm tomoz for mothersdsy with dad if u wanna come'.

In another exchange of EncroChat messages with the handle "hyper-hawk", thetopsking referred to having been released from prison 4 years earlier, having received a sentence of nine years’ imprisonment when he was 21.

Records showed that Harding was sentenced to nine years and eight months imprisonment when he was 21 years and seven months old, for his "involvement in a leading role in a sophisticated operation for the supply and importation of mephedrone and other drugs", the court heard.

But, the main use of the phones was to discuss the importation and distribution of cocaine, the court heard.

Harding and Kharouti also discussed a plan to shoot dead another drug courier during a "cryp robbery"

The plan developed over time, and on May 25 2020 there were further messages involving Harding and Kharouti which referred to a hit, locations for it, and the use of a bike and a strap (gun)."

Kharouti contacted an associate asking for assistance to source a stolen car and Glock machine gun, before he also offered to source a gunman for the contract killing, which is understood to never have happened, the court heard.

The trial continues.