Digital tracking on encrypted platforms leads to drugs smuggling bust, Europol says
Authorities have dismantled four major criminal networks responsible for fuelling the flow of drugs into the European Union and Turkey, arresting more than 230 people in a sting known as Operation Bulut.
The final three arrests were made in the Netherlands and Germany on Wednesday, bringing the trans-European operation to a close.
Europol said the investigation took place across multiple jurisdictions and involved authorities in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
What set this operation apart, was the extent to which law enforcement officers employed digital tracking within encrypted digital platforms to track down and arrest suspected drug smugglers.
In an interview with Euronews, Andy Kraag, the Head of Europol's European Serious and Organised Crime Centre, explained more about the operation.
Euronews: Why is Operation Bulut regarded as innovative in the fight against international crime and drug trafficking?
Andy Kraag:** This is a prime example of a strategy for tackling these criminal organisations. This strategy, as we call it, is a data-driven network strategy. With these platforms, for instance, we collect large data sets.
We conduct analysis so that we can identify, we can locate and target the right criminals. This is a prime example. This sends a strong message to organised crime groups that even the most resilient networks can be dismantled, specifically when we, as law enforcement, join forces.
Euronews: Was ANOM a trap encrypted platform to attract and track criminal activities?
Kraag:** Operation Bulut was built on the encryptions, so on the messages from Sky and from ANOM. And ANOM is a different platform. ANOM was the platform that was run by law enforcement, by the Australians and by the police officers.
And they saw it. And in this platform, these criminals also talked about criminal activities. So instantly we could use it as evidence.
Through ANOM, law enforcement themselves put in a platform themselves and criminals choose to communicate on it.
Andy Kraag, Europol's head of the Serious Organised Crime Unit
Europol
Euronews: Did the EU police forces, along with officers from Turkey, gain access to encrypted platforms the criminals gangs were using to communicate?
Kraag:** These messages (of the criminals) gave us the main advantage to carry out this operation. Even though the messages were four years old, it takes some time to develop the cases.
Sometimes, we also say in law enforcement, that this goldmine of information that we have decrypted is like the gift that keeps on giving. We constantly develop actionable intelligence, which leads to ongoing investigations.
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Euronews: You mentioned a keyword; intelligence. Have you managed to overcome the lack of classified information information sharing between states? That's often a stumbling block in the struggle against crime in the EU?
Kraag:** The information sharing between European law enforcement agencies has improved, but now we're also able to share as well. France authorised the sharing (of its intelligence) with Turkey.
We know that there's law enforcement and there's only one thing that is needed: to share information, to cooperate, and to be able to connect the dots.
And specifically for Europol, what is our role? That's basically what we do. We are the glue that brings everything together.
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