Icelandic authorities assisted in an international operation supported by Europol and Eurojust, dismantling an encrypted communication platform used for organised crime. The operation resulted in 51 arrests worldwide.
51 individuals arrested
Icelandic law enforcement participated in a large-scale operation supported by Europol and Eurojust (the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation), targeting criminal activities involving an encrypted communication platform called Ghost, RÚV reports. The platform was hosted on servers in Iceland and France.
According to a press release published by Eurojust today, the authorities launched investigations into Ghost after receiving alerts about the new encrypted service being used in Sweden, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.
As noted by Eurojust, 51 individuals were arrested during the operation, including 38 in Australia, 11 in Ireland, 1 in Italy, and 1 in Canada. The platform was primarily used for drug trafficking but also facilitated other criminal activities, such as arms trading, homicide, robbery, kidnapping, and money laundering.
Operations coordinated from Australia and Canada
Although the platform was hosted on servers in France and Iceland, the authorities believe that the criminal operations facilitated by Ghost were mainly coordinated from Australia and Canada, with financial assets originating within the United States. As noted by Eurojust, users enjoyed complete anonymity on Ghost.
“The communication platform is a fully anonymised service. Users can purchase the solution without any personal information. The platform uses three encryption standards and offers the option to send a message followed by a specific code that results in the self-destruction of all messages on the target phone. By using multiple private servers around the world, third party or government agencies have difficulty tracking the communication solution,” Eurojust’s press release notes.
A joint investigative team from French and U.S. authorities, which was established at Eurojust, led the investigation. In addition to the arrests, drug production facilities in Australia were dismantled, and over one million euros [$1.1 million] in cash, along with weapons and drugs, were seized.
Cooperation is important
In an interview with RÚV today, Grímur Grímsson, head of the central division of the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police, stated that the servers were located in a data centre in Iceland. A formal request for assistance from France led Icelandic authorities to gather information from the servers.
“Our involvement was primarily focused on gathering digital information from these servers. There is no suspicion that users of the service were located in Iceland. We are, however, pleased to have been able to assist in dismantling this service, which was used by criminals,” Grímur told RÚV.
Speaking to Vísir today, Kolbrún Benediktsdóttir, the first Liaison Prosecutor for Iceland at Eurojust, underscored the importance of having permanent representatives at Europol and Eurojust.
“This highlights the significance of having our representatives there to fully participate in such operations, which this time had direct links to Iceland. Even though there were no arrests made in Iceland on this occasion, this has relevance for all of us, as organised crime of this nature impacts every country in the world.”
