It's amazing how blatantly the perpetrators communicate with each other about serious crimes," says Chief Inspector Kai Ernst. By analyzing criminal chats on the platform of crypto mobile phone provider Encrochat, the police have dealt a serious blow to drug-related crime across Europe.
In June 2021, the Forseti Special Organizational Structure (BAO) was founded to put a stop to crypto dealers. "But the LKA and the district police authorities have already been dealing with the incidents for a year and a half," reports the 43-year-old officer. "We are aware of the crimes that have been committed. But tracking down the crime scenes and the perpetrators is a challenging and very complex task." At most, the gangsters would have used nicknames in their conspiratorial contacts and kept quiet about the locations of the illegal transactions.
Crypto devices have pre-installed software and look like normal cell phones even when switched on. The shady customers of Encrochat felt very safe. Users paid the provider, which has since ceased operations, a handsome six-monthly fee for encryption.
Authorities in France and the Netherlands, however, cracked the program after receiving tips and were able to siphon off the drug gangs' exchanges for months in 2020. The haul was huge - also for Germany. The LKA NRW gained access to this data and coordinated its distribution to the district police authorities. The information was distributed to the various LKAs via the Federal Criminal Police Office. The task now is to make maximum use of it.
The interim results drawn up in November are impressive - also thanks to the excellent work of the district police authorities. 8.5 kilograms of cocaine, 1.5 kilograms of heroin and 1.4 tons of cannabis were seized in NRW. In addition, 55 kilos of synthetic drugs and several tons of raw materials for their production were seized. The investigators also came across 74 firearms. 24 million euros in cash and 24 cars, including extravagant luxury models, were confiscated.
But the hunt for the crypto cell phone criminals continues. The IT experts from the BAO team are initially processing the data so that it can be read by everyone. Specialists like Melanie Plikat, deputy head of the BAO's evaluation section, follow up every last clue. This is how they track down organized crime. Thousands and thousands of voice messages, emails, videos and photos are scrutinized.
They are a rich treasure trove. "We are doing detailed criminal work here," says the detective chief inspector. "In order to achieve our goal, we are extremely meticulous. In this way, we can identify people time and time again."
Once the name of a suspect has been found, a bell is rung. That motivates them. The resourceful BAO investigators - 14 people in total - work closely together in a large command room so that they can communicate quickly. "If there are concrete starting points, the LKA forwards the case via the central public prosecutor's office to a police headquarters, which is then supposed to make the case forensic," explains Kai Ernst.
As the gangs are mobile and operate in a wide network, it is necessary to decide on a department "according to the focus of action", he explains. Cooperation within the authorities is intensive and fruitful. "We have already achieved amazing results in a very short space of time."
At times, the investigation resembles a thriller. Detective Inspector Alexander Freitag, a 30-year-old BAO evaluation specialist, reports how he used crypted image files to observe the growth and flourishing of marijuana plants in a basement plantation. "Eventually, I was able to locate the site in the Ruhr area."
A nationwide coordinated raid was carried out. "The colleagues found a total of 40 kilos of marijuana, neatly packaged in small bags, and 1,200 harvested flower pots." Freitag estimates the minimum annual yield from this plantation alone at 140 kilos if harvested three times. "That would bring around 560,000 euros on the market. That's no small thing."
The BAO tries to pick off several parties at once wherever possible. The first court convictions have already been handed down. In the meantime, another crypto network, Sky ECC, has been exposed. The FBI also operated the crypto messenger Anom itself and used it to intercept millions of chats. "One thing is certain," says Senior Criminal Investigator Kai Ernst, "we won't run out of work any time soon."
