SYDNEY, Sept 18 — The Australian police have revealed that dozens of people were arrested in the country as part of a global action against an encrypted communications network involving nine countries and European Union (EU) law enforcement agency Europol.
The German News Agency (dpa) reported that the network’s mastermind is a 32-year-old man from New South Wales, according to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
The man has been charged “for creating and administering Ghost, a dedicated encrypted communication platform, which the AFP alleges was built solely for the criminal underworld”.
Australian police arrested 38 people across the country between Monday (September 16) and yesterday as part of the crackdown, codenamed Operation Kraken, with more arrests expected in the coming days.
Police action is also underway in countries including Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Canada.
Australian prosecutors will allege that offenders who used the app “were trafficking illicit drugs, money laundering, ordering killings, or threatening serious violence”, said the police.
The operation saw authorities target the encrypted communications platform, which was created nine years ago. The AFP said it modified updates of the software “which basically infected the devices, enabling the AFP to access the content on devices in Australia”.
“Law enforcement from nine countries, together with Europol, have dismantled a tool which was a lifeline for serious organised crime.
“The work carried out is part of our ongoing commitment to tackling organised crime wherever it operates,” Europol chief Catherine De Bolle said today.
Swedish Police Authority’s Ted Esplund said: “The importance of international police cooperation should not be underestimated.”
“Criminal networks act globally and it is absolutely essential that law enforcement agencies act in the same way in order to be successful in the fight against organised crime,” he said.
In 2021, the AFP was similarly involved in a major international sting operation which used an encrypted app designed by police called AN0M to disrupt criminal networks, with nearly 400 people charged in Australia alone.
— Bernama
