In this undated photo provided by the Australian Federal Police, illicit drugs are found in a concealed compartment in a vehicle after police have revealed on Sept 18, 2024, that they have penetrated an encrypted global communications app developed for criminals called Ghost, leading to dozens of arrests. — Australian Federal Police via AP
MELBOURNE, Australia: Australian police said on Sept 18 they have infiltrated Ghost, an encrypted global communications app developed for criminals, leading to dozens of arrests.
The app's alleged administrator, Jay Je Yoon Jung, 32, will appear in a Sydney court Wednesday on charges including supporting a criminal organization and benefitting from proceeds of crime, police said.
Australian police arrested 38 suspects in raids across four states in recent days while law enforcement agencies were also making arrests in Canada, Sweden, Ireland and Italy, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney said.
"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,” McCartney told reporters.
Australian police had prevented 50 people from being killed, kidnapped or seriously hurt by monitoring threats among 125,000 messages and 120 video calls since March, Assistant Commissioner Kirsty Schofield said.
Police allege the administrator developed the app specifically for criminal use in 2017.
Australia joined a Europol-led global taskforce targeting Ghost in 2022.
Col. Florian Manet, who heads France’s Home Affairs Ministry National Cyber Command Technical Department, said in a statement issued by Australian police that his officers provided technical resources to the task force over several years that helped decrypt the communications.
McCartney said the French had “provided a foot in the door” for Australian police to decrypt Ghost communications.
Australian police technicians were able to modify software updates regularly pushed out by the administrator, McCartney said.
“In effect, we infected the devices, enabling us to access the content on Australian devices,” McCartney said, adding that the alleged administrator lived in his parents’ Sydney home and had no police record.
Yoon Jung was arrested at his home on Tuesday.
Police say Yoon Jung used a network of resellers to offer specialised handsets to criminals around the world.
The modified smartphones sold for A$2,350 (RM6,728 or US$1,590) which included a six-month subscription to Ghost and tech support. – AP
