Tom Warren 

24 November 2015 ai16.12
To Turn Warren 

OFFICIAL

HI Tom,

We published statements at the time on the Heterodon and Enderby cases. As a general
statement covering both, and the review, you are welcome to attribute any of the following to
an NCA spokesperson:

Our cases are complex and challenging, and the nature of the criminals we investigate
requires us to be dynamic and assertive in our approach. We are proud of our conviction rate,
which was 91% last year, and we do not want any prosecution to fail, particularly if there is
anything we can do ourselves to prevent that.

Issues identified in Operations Heterodon and Enderby were a disappointment to us and
prompted a comprehensive review across the agency of inherited processes and standards
around warrant applications, and of live cases where issues With warrants may not have been
previously identified. The review is of all warrants, production orders, account monitoring
orders and authorisations for searches under 518 of PACE in all live cases. This is a

substantial task but we consider that it is the right thing to do. The review is independent of
the part of the NCA which obtained the warrant or order, is assisted by the CPS, and is
chaired by a member of the NCA legal team (although not a QC).

Where the review identifies any relevant issues, we are engaging proactively with the
defence and working closely With the CPS to properly discharge disclosure obligations on a
case by case basis. Where necessary, we are applying under 559 of the Criminal Justice and
Police Act 2001 for evidence to be retained. So far, we haven't found anything that leads us
to believe there is a need to go back over settled cases. As this review is considering cases
which are going through the courts it would not be appropriate to publish details outside that
process.

We have also issued updated guidance to officers, revised the legal and awareness
training for officers applying for warrants, and introduced additional rigour to the application
and authorisation process. We are sharing our experience with law enforcement and police
colleagues to ensure that they too can learn from the cases.

    

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