Cops across the world arrest 51 in orchestrated takedown of Ghost crime platform

Hours after confirming they had pwned the supposedly uncrackable encrypted messaging platform used for all manner of organized crime, Ghost, cops have now named the suspect they cuffed last night, who is charged with being the alleged mastermind.

Australian national Jay Je Yoon Jung, 32, of Narwee, New South Wales, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and faced five charges in a Sydney court today in relation to the development and administration of Ghost.

The platform operated in a similar fashion to EncroChat, although it was much smaller in scale. EncroChat was infiltrated and taken down in 2020, and the analysis of its users' communications continues to yield convictions.

Like the analysis of EncroChat's users, the AFP said today that 38 additional Ghost users are currently facing "serious charges" for their various activities on the platform, including "significant prison sentences."

The arrests took place over the course of two days of action on September 17-18 which involved 700 AFP members executing search warrants across four Australian states.

Additional arrests across Australia and international territories are expected in the coming days, the AFP said.

Ghost was used by different types of criminals and transnational organized crime groups (OCGs), although it was mainly relied upon by drug traffickers, money launderers, and those who wished to arrange violent attacks on individuals.

David McLean, assistant commissioner at the AFP, said: "As a result of our efforts, we will allege hundreds of criminals, including Italian organized crime, outlaw motorcycle gangs, Middle Eastern organized crime, and Korean organized crime have been using Ghost, in Australia and overseas, to import illicit drugs and to order the killing of individuals involved in various criminal enterprises."

The AFP said its Operation Kraken has already intervened in 50 threats to life and threats of harm made by users on the Ghost platform, stymied the distribution of 200 kg worth of drugs from reaching users in Australia, and the seizure of 25 illegal firearms and weapons.

Criminals purchased access to Ghost in the form of specialized hardware – handsets modified by Je Yoon Jung and allegedly sold using a network of resellers.

These modded smartphones were sold for around $2,350 AUD ($1,593 USD) each. This paid for the hardware itself and a six-month subscription to the Ghost platform. The AFP believes 376 handsets were active in Australia at the time of writing.

Global effort

The disruption of Ghost is a couple of years in the making. Europol and Eurojust's Operation Taskforce (OTF) Next was established in March 2022 at which point other partners across the globe were invited to contribute.

Led by the US's FBI and France's Gendarmerie, law enforcement agencies from nine territories contributed to the takedown of Ghost including police forces from Australia, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden, plus the Italian Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Service.

Commenting on the news, Europol's Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said: "Today we have made it clear that no matter how hidden criminal networks think they are, they can't evade our collective effort. 

"Law enforcement from nine countries, together with Europol, have dismantled a tool which was a lifeline for serious organized crime. This operation is what Europol is all about: Turning collaboration into concrete results by bringing together the right people, tools, and expertise to address every aspect of this complex operation. 

"The work carried out is part of our ongoing commitment to tackling organized crime wherever it operates. I want to extend my gratitude to all our global partners who played a vital role in making this operation a success."

Emerald in the rough

Speaking at a press conference, Justin Kelly, assistant commissioner at An Garda Síochána, said Ireland had the second largest userbase of Ghost in the world, and four OCGs in the country were targeted through the police's access to Ghost.

"During this operation, we targeted four Irish organized crime groups who were involved in drugs trafficking, frequently using violence and intimidation to enforce their illicit trade," said Kelly. "Most significantly, we have dismantled a primary drugs trafficking route into our country, and in doing so have seized drugs with an approximate street value of €16 million ($17.82 million). We deployed over 300 specialist officers and searched 33 premises across the country during this operation.

"Our activity to date has resulted in 11 arrests and the seizure of €350,000 ($389,830) in cash, and I can assure you that there will indeed be further arrests. During our operation, we also targeted the key facilitators of this encrypted phone network, and importantly, seized a number of the suspect handsets."

Asked whether the Kinahan OCG, one of the foremost crime families in Ireland, was among the four OCGs targeted in An Garda Síochána's efforts, Kelly wouldn't say either way, but reckoned those in its sights were of an "extremely high value" and the operation was vitally important to the police.

Mafia kingpin caught

None of the participating countries in OTF Next revealed much in the way of specifics regarding the arrests they made, although Europol teased the fact that one member of Sacra Corona Unita, a mafia group in Puglia, Italy, was among them.

The mobster wasn't named, however. Leonardo Lando, Italian drugs liaison officer at Europol, said the individual had been wanted since 2023 and was alleged to hold "a big role" in Sacra Corona Unita.

"Because of the geography, the closing together with Albania and this area is very fundamental and crucial for this kind of investigation," he said. "So, we hope that it will be just only a start for new law enforcement cooperation."

The only other arrest came in Canada, taking the total across the nine territories to 51. In the same way the EncroChat intrusion still yields arrests in 2024, officials believe many more arrests will come from OTF Next's findings.

"I think that there's lots that will be done now, on the judicial point of view," said Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, executive director of operations at Europol. "It can take time, but I think it's the time that is the normal time for these kinds of complex cases where every [piece of] evidence could be challenged by the lawyers and so on. 

"But, it's part of the game, let's say, and our democratic system that any [part] of this investigation can be questioned and answered and discussed first with the investigative judge, but also in front of court." He added: "We are quite confident on the fact that we have good evidence to go through this process to convictions."

Linda Staaf of the Swedish police and former head of Sweden's National Operations Department said the Swedish police has not yet made any arrests due to "judicial reasons" but hopes that will change in the future. 

Sweden has been contributing to the arrests, however, providing cooperation and intelligence to other territories, including details on a server used by Ghost which were shared around OTF Next members. ®