Following a major international police operation that included high-level involvement from Europol, dozens of people have been arrested in connection with organised criminal activities centred around an encrypted communication platform.

The platform known as Ghost had been used for serious crimes such as: drug trafficking, money laundering and the arrangement of contract killings.

Suspects have been taken into custody from four different countries, and weapons, drugs and over €1m (£842,270) in cash, has been seized globally.

The dismantling of the crime network came after threats were detected from the monitoring of over 125,000 messages and over a hundred video calls in the past six months.

According to authorities it has almost certainly prevented at least 50 murders, kidnappings, or seriously injuries from taking place.

Multi-national operation

The company’s owners were found to be located in Australia, with financial assets discovered in the United States.

However, authorities in these two countries were also assisted by colleagues in Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Highly sophisticated system

The Ghost platform had gained significant traction within the criminal organisations fraternity thanks in a large part to its highly advanced security features; plus users were able to purchase the solution without any personal information being needed.

By adopting a policy of accepting just three encryption standards it was possible to send a message followed by a specific code that had the effect of self-destructing all messages on a target phone.

Essentially, this permitted criminal gangs to buy the tool anonymously to communicate free from detection, and therefore coordinate illegal operations across borders.

Crime organisations hit hard

Thus far, 51 individuals have been arrested, comprising 38 in Australia, 11 in Ireland, one in Canada and one in Italy.

“Law enforcement from nine countries, together with Europol, have dismantled a tool which was a lifeline for serious organised crime,” said Europol’s executive director Catherine De Bolle.

She added: “Today we have made it clear that no matter how hidden criminal networks think they are, they can’t evade our collective effort,” and confirmed that a drug laboratory in Australia had also been uncovered and taken apart.

“Computer geek” the brains of the enterprise

The platform’s alleged administrator, 32-year-old Jay Je Yoon, an Australian national from Narwee in Sydney’s south, is accused of developing the app specifically for criminal use in 2017, using a network of resellers to offer specialised handsets to criminals around the world

Police described him as a “computer geek” with no criminal history and who still lives at home with his parents.

He has already appeared in a court in the city facing several charges including: supporting a criminal organisation and benefiting from proceeds of an indictable offence. He has not yet entered pleas and will be held in custody until his next appearance in November.

More arrests likely

“We allege hundreds of criminals including Italian organised crime, motorcycle gang members, Middle Eastern organised crime and Korean organised crime have used Ghost in Australia and overseas to import illicit drugs and order killings,” said Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner Ian McCartney.

He explained how the platform was gaining more and more subscribers after being marketed to users as “an un-hackable network”.

Europol says further disruption of illegal activities and more arrests are expected as their developing investigation continues.