Europol arrests 51 people and dismantles encrypted communication platform

Europol arrested 51 people in connection to a notorious encrypted software, known for large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering. 

The suspects are connected to Ghost, a platform that’s gained popularity with criminals for its security features. 

The platform let users send a message with a specific code that could self-destruct all the messages on that device, letting criminals “evade detection, counter forensic measures and coordinate illegal operations across borders,” Europol continued. 

Europol estimates that “several thousand” people used the tool and that “around one thousand” messages a day were being sent on the platform. 

“Today we have made it clear that no matter how hidden criminal networks think they are, they can’t evade our collective effort,” Catherine De Bolle, Europol’s executive director, said in a press release. 

Of those arrested, 38 are Australian, 11 are Irish, one is Canadian and another is Italian with links to the Sacra Corona Unita mafia group. 

Within their operation, Europol also seized over €1 million in cash, dismantled an Australian drug lab and prevented some “threats to life”. 

Europol set up a joint task force with police forces from nine countries because they found Ghost servers in France and Iceland, the owners in Australia, and financial assets in the United States.