The amazing story of an international FBI super-sting operation has gone viral. Essentially, the FBI partnered with an app developer and drug trafficker it had arrested to create an encrypted phone network. The FBI, working with many Western law enforcement agencies, had undercover agents convince criminals to use the app.
“Made for criminals by criminals” was how the undercover agents promoted the app to the underworld. Criminals believed the app was bulletproof, so to speak, at protecting the secrecy of their communications about money laundering, drug sales, planned murders, and all other manner of crimes. The Daily Mail:
It took $100,000 plus expenses, and the opportunity for a reduced prison sentence, for a smartphone developer and former drug trafficker to collaborate with the FBI in 2018 and kick-start Operation Trojan Shield.
Three years later, an investigation involving 9,000 law enforcement officers from 17 countries saw authorities monitor 27 million messages from 12,000 devices in 100 countries and track the activities of more than 300 organized crime groups, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol, said in a statement.
To date, there have been more than 800 arrests and the seizure of more than eight tons of cocaine, 22 tons of cannabis, two tons of synthetic drugs, 250 guns, 55 luxury vehicles and over $48million in cash and cryptocurrencies, Europol said.
With 27 million messages intercepted, the FBI and other international police agencies have already made arrests. We look forward to more arrests as the agencies methodically work through the massive trove of intercepted evidence.
Our interest is in finding any organized crime connections to Scientology or Scientologists for the purposes of money laundering, human trafficking and other crimes. We have traced Scientology and shady people and money connections across the world at this blog for seven years now and have no plans to stop. Without making specific comments, our areas of interest are Dubai, Syria, Pakistan, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Australia, Mexico, Cyprus, Sicily, Russia, Israel, Ukraine, and the Cayman Islands.
Vice has a copy of the search warrant the US District Court served on Google in relation to Operation Trojan Shield. See Vice’s incredible reporting and read the search warrant: Trojan Shield: How the FBI Secretly Ran a Phone Network for Criminals. The front page of the warrant:
Intelligence analyst and Game Theory Today podcaster Eric Garland’s tweets on the FBI operation are quite entertaining to read as he comments on the contents of the search warrant with unabashed gusto:
<THREAD>
DOJ just unsealed the search warrant on the “encrypted” 🤣 telecom used by thousands of Mobsters worldwide RUN BY THE FBI THE WHOLE TIME and it is a goddamned children’s treasury of awesome.Come, let us frolic! 😂🖕⚖️😇 pic.twitter.com/k7MEmd8dMZ
— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) June 8, 2021
The US Department of Justice Press Release:
FBI Encrypted Phone Platform Infiltrated Hundreds of Criminal Syndicates; Result is Massive Worldwide TakedownCategories: The Scientology Money Project
Eric and I used to play with the same groups of salsa musicians back in DC in the early 2000’s( bass gigs). He is a real character, funny and smart. Glad to see you citing his work. Both of you write well, and with wit and humor. Cheers!
Why did DOJ unseal the search warrant? Isn’t that supposed to be secret until the trial?
What the world needs next is a Telex network set up strictly for criminals. There’ll be far fewer entries to search and analyze, and it’s sure to hook a big rotten fish!