‘Mafia boss’ caught, Irish cartel raided after global fallout from Sydney Ghost network

According to AFP, nearly 400 of the 600 active Ghost phones are in Australia, while the rest are in Italy, Ireland, Canada and Sweden.

Anti-mafia investigators stormed a farmhouse in Italy’s southern Puglia region at dawn last week and found Giovanni Parlangeli.

The alleged mafia boss had been off the grid since last year, until the Ghost breach, authorities say.

Cash seized in Ireland as part of crackdown on Ghost users.

Local media described Parlangeli as a “boss” or senior figure who linked two organized crime clans in the region. He had false documents for foreign travel and ammunition stored at the farm, authorities allege.

After Australia, Ireland was the biggest user of Ghost, with nearly a dozen people arrested.

According to the Irish police, the Gardaí, large quantities of drugs, cryptocurrencies and cash were seized.

Jung was arrested by the AFP on Tuesday morning after they infiltrated the Ghost network, which is believed to be run from his bedroom.Credit: AFP

Police have seized 42 Ghost phones but believe there are still around 100 in the country, public broadcaster RTE said.

Authorities said four unnamed gangs have been arrested, including members of a group known as The Family – the country’s largest drug importer.

The Family has only recently gained control of the latest generation of powerful gangs in Ireland, most notably the Kinahan Cartel.

Gardaí were asked if any Kinahan members were among those caught using Ghost phones. They declined to comment, but said those arrested were “high profile” targets.

“We want to make sure that they feel vulnerable around their communications and how they interact with each other. That gives us an opportunity to investigate. The higher echelons of organised crime groups used the ‘Ghost’ system,” Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said.

The AFP also claims to have uncovered an elaborate plot orchestrated from a New South Wales prison using Ghost, resembling the infamous Kinahan conspiracy.

According to AFP, Guy Habkouk, who is being held on suspicion of large-scale heroin importation, is said to have had contacts through Ghost to obtain rocket launchers, machine guns, grenades and terrorist insignia.

Habkouk’s plan, the AFP alleges, was to alert authorities to a false terrorist plot in exchange for a lighter sentence for his alleged heroin trafficking. His brother, Wade, was convicted earlier this year for his role in the drug deal. Guy is fighting the charges.

But Guy Habkouk’s alleged plan to cut a deal with the judge is similar to what the Kinahan family carried out in 2020.

Two Kinahan gang leaders buried guns on a farm in Ireland and then tipped off prosecutors to their location, claiming they had information about gun smuggling.

The aim was for the court to give them a lighter compensation for their cooperation.

But the Kinahans didn’t know that EncroChat, their favourite encrypted app, had already been hacked by police.

The Kinahans were charged with weapons charges and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice during their drugs trials.

According to AFP, the demise of EncroChat, along with its rivals Phantom Secure and Sky ECC, led criminals to turn to Ghost.

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