Agents infiltrate ‘Ghost’ encryption app used by drug lords, mafia – POLITICO

Authorities in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States worked with Europol and Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, to map the platform’s global infrastructure.

They found servers in France and Iceland and tracked down Ghost’s owners in Australia, where authorities arrested a 32-year-old administrator, The Associated Press reported.

“No matter how advanced the technology, no matter how secure they think their communications are, we will find them and stop their criminal activities,” said Catherine De Bolle, Director of Europol.

Officials say authorities have also arrested members of the Italian mafia, motorcycle gangs and organized crime groups. The arrests were made in Canada, Sweden, Ireland and Italy.

This is the latest high-profile raid on encrypted communications carried out by a team of international law enforcement agencies in recent years.

In 2020, France and the Netherlands led the investigation into EncroChat, a “cryptophone” company that sold encrypted communications services and devices used by criminal networks, many of which were involved in drug trafficking and organized crime.