Protected messengers helped reveal the case about the illegal trading of drugs of a global scale. The joint operation of the Europol and the police forces of several countries led to the arrest of six people and the confiscation of 2.7 tons of cocaine.
The Serbian police headed the operation with the support of Brazil, Croatia, France, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Slovenia. The investigation aimed at the Balkan cartel suspected of smuggling prohibited substances from South America to Europe by sea.
One of the arrested was a citizen of Serbia – the organizer of the cartel. It was his correspondence that brought the police to the right mark.
What kind of messenger “brought” the drug lord – is not specified. However, it is known that the case of the elimination of several platforms, which were often used in various illegal operations, helped authorities understand how the communication between members of criminal groups works. EncroChat, Sky ECC, and Anom have closed at different times over the past few years. The analysis of these cases served as the basis for the arrest of thousands of suspects in various cases.
August 24, a global search was carried out in the territory of 15 countries. As a result, not only 2.7 tons of cocaine were seized from criminals, but also two expensive cars, luxurious watches, and about € 550,000 in cash.
This is not the first time that hacking encrypted messengers leads to major arrests. In May of this year, the European police arrested three “most influential” drug lords in the Balkans and another 10 suspects in different countries. For this, law enforcement agencies also thank the successful hack Sky ECC.
Thus, the use of technologies for decoding messages in “encrypted” messengers is becoming an increasingly effective tool in the fight against international crime. Although such incidents cause an ambiguous reaction of the public, imperfections in encryption sometimes play justice on the hand.