Sky-ECC data in court: 50 drug cases in Switzerland at risk
Zurich's regional court ruled Sky-ECC chat data inadmissible. Around 50 ongoing proceedings against alleged drug dealers threaten to collapse.
Sky-ECC chats as evidence: Zurich ruling shakes Swiss law enforcement
A 28-year-old is alleged to have sold kilograms of cocaine and heroin. The District Court of Bülach sentenced him to ten years imprisonment. Yet the case is far more than an ordinary drug trial – it exemplifies an evidential problem that, according to SRF, is shaking Swiss law enforcement as a whole.
The suspect was exposed through the encrypted messenger app Sky ECC, known in criminal circles as the "WhatsApp for gangsters". The service operated until 2021 on specially prepared mobile phones and was widespread among criminals: the platform was used to plan crimes and to exchange images and videos of drugs, weapons and murders.
French police cracked the encryption
In 2021, French police achieved a decisive breakthrough: they cracked Sky ECC's encryption and secured billions of messages. The data was regarded by law enforcement authorities worldwide as a goldmine. Swiss authorities also received information on alleged criminals. According to Fedpol, 50 proceedings with Sky-ECC connection are currently underway.
Then came the shock: in the summer, Zurich's regional court ruled the chat data inadmissible in a drug case. The reasoning: Swiss user data had been obtained without a prior mutual legal assistance request to Switzerland, thereby violating the territorial principle.
Investigators faced with unresolved questions
The law enforcement authorities have responded cautiously. Markus Gisin, head of criminal investigation at the Aargau Cantonal Police, puts it this way: "Individuals in respect of whom the chats clearly show they were dealing in drugs could not face criminal prosecution." Proceedings that substantially rely on the chat data threaten to be discontinued – alleged serious criminals could go unpunished.
SRF's Rundschau programme contacted all cantonal public prosecutors. Graubünden is conducting two proceedings, Schwyz "several", one case is known in St. Gallen, and a Sky-ECC ruling has already become final in the canton of Vaud. Ten cantons provided no information, seven stated they were not aware of any pending proceedings.
The Zurich public prosecutor's office emphasised to Rundschau that in the data transmitted by France there are "more than 1,000 individual points of connection for offences, which however still need to be processed". This means: hundreds of possible criminal proceedings across Switzerland depend on this evidence.
Federal Court to decide at final instance
In the Bülach proceedings, the judges did not question the Sky-ECC evidence and sentenced the 28-year-old. Public prosecutor Christian Meier expressed satisfaction: "This is about serious criminals, not small fry." Defence counsel Daniel Walder, by contrast, stated: "It is understandable that the court passes the hot potato to the regional court."
The final say on the fundamental question of the admissibility of the data will rest with the Federal Court.
Source: SRF