Australian police charge man with alleged mastermind behind global crime app

It is the first time an Australian resident has been charged with setting up and running a global criminal platform, police said.

SYDNEY, Australia — Australian police have charged a man with creating and operating a messaging app used by global organized crime networks, the first time such a move has occurred in the country.

The 32-year-old man was arrested by Federal Police in Western Sydney on Wednesday, September 18. He appeared in court on suspicion of five offences relating to the running of the Ghost messaging platform, which police alleged was used by various gangs and organised crime syndicates in the Middle East, Australia and South Korea to import drugs and order killings.

“Disabling specially encrypted communications devices requires considerable skill,” said Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney. “But the holy grail is always to compromise criminal platforms to gain access to evidence.”

It is the first time an Australian resident has been charged with setting up and running a global criminal platform, police said.

This month, police raided four Australian states and territories over two days, with similar searches also taking place in Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Canada.

Police say 50 alleged criminals using Ghost are also facing charges in Australia. The charges carry significant prison sentences. More arrests are expected in Australia and overseas in the coming days.

Police say it was possible to prevent the death or serious injury of 50 people in Australia by cracking Ghost’s encryption. – Rappler.com