Irish Police Seize €16 Million in Drugs After Cracking Ghost Encrypted Network

Gardaí have arrested 11 people and seized €16 million worth of drugs following an international operation targeting the Ghost encrypted communication platform.

Irish Police Seize €16 Million in Drugs After Cracking Ghost Encrypted Network

Gardaí have arrested 11 people and seized drugs with a street value of around €16 million following an international operation targeting the Ghost encrypted communication platform. Ireland had the second-largest user base of the service globally.

The platform, marketed to criminals with features such as triple encryption and a self-destruct function, had servers located in Iceland and Switzerland. Its administrator was based in Australia.

Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly said the operation had "dismantled a primary trafficking route" into Ireland. Approximately 300 specialist gardaí were involved in conducting searches across the country.

Among the items seized were 27 laptops, 42 suspected Ghost devices, 126 other mobile phones, €350,000 in cash, and a significant amount of cryptocurrency. Detectives intercepted a truck in the south-east and recovered 100 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated €7 million.

Five men aged in their 30s, 40s and 50s were arrested. Four are being held under drug trafficking legislation, while one is detained under laws targeting criminal gang organisation. They can be held for up to seven days.

Sources indicated that a Dublin-based grouping known as "The Family" was the main gang involved. The platform was used to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering, murder plots and other serious criminal activity.

The international coalition involved police from France, the United States, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. French Gendarmerie cyber experts played a key role in breaching the platform.

According to Irish Independent, the operation represents one of the most significant blows to Irish organised crime in recent years.

Source: Independent.ie