Canadian among dozens arrested in Ghost app global cybercrime crackdown

A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in this Oct. 9, 2023 photo illustration. (Graeme Roy / The Canadian Press)

A Canadian suspect was among dozens arrested around the world in a global crackdown that shut down the encrypted communication platform, called Ghost, dealing a major blow to organized crime networks, according to police.

Called a “lifeline” for serious criminals, the Ghost app became notorious for enabling large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering, “extreme violence,” and other kinds of organized crime, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) said in a press release Wednesday. Europol led the global crackdown.

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A Canadian was arrested in Vancouver on Tuesday and released pending trial, as part of the Ghost operation and an investigation into the export of drugs from Canada to Australia, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Martina Pillarova said in an email Wednesday to CTVNews.ca.

The RCMP declined to provide further details.

The RCMP eastern region's unit, under Project Cyborg, conducted the Canadian component of the Ghost investigation.

Pillarova said the RCMP played a “key role” in the crackdown by developing a new technique allowing authorities to collect digital evidence.

Ghost operation

The investigation involved nine countries and resulted in 51 arrests, including one in Canada, 38 in Australia, 11 in Ireland, and one in Italy belonging to the Italian Sacra Corona Unita mafia group, according to Europol.

More arrests are expected as the investigation continues, Europol said.

“We allege hundreds of criminals including Italian organized crime, motorcycle gang members, Middle Eastern organized crime and Korean organized crime have used Ghost in Australia and overseas to import illicit drugs and order killings,” Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney said Wednesday.

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Australian police said they had monitored threats among 125,000 messages and 120 video calls since March, which prevented 50 people from being killed, kidnapped or seriously hurt.

A 32-year-old man from Sydney was charged and appeared in court Wednesday. He's accused of creating the app for criminal use in 2017. He did not enter pleas and will remain in jail until his next court date in November.

Servers were found in France and Iceland, the company owners were in Australia and financial assets were in the United States, according to Europol.

What is Ghost?

Ghost is an encrypted global communications app that became popular with criminal organizations because of its “advanced security features,” according to Europol.

Users could buy the tool without providing personal information, and it offered encryption standards that allowed the self-destruction of all messages on target phones.

“This allowed criminal networks to communicate securely, evade detection, counter forensic measures, and coordinate their illegal operations across borders,” according to Europol.

Several thousand people used the tool, with 1,000 messages being exchanged each day, Europol’s press release read.

With files from The Associated Press