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Drugs, murders, kidnappings / The platform that trapped Balkan gangs, including Albanians

Politiko 2022-04-26 10:13:20

Drugs, murders, kidnappings / The platform that trapped Balkan gangs, including

The removal of the Sky ECC platform has managed to identify drug gangs, and not only, in the countries of the Balkan region. This platform enabled police officers to block encrypted communication between traffickers.

BIRN points out that the tracking is done through several mobile phones and two satellite phones along with a personalized device in which a code system based on the Sky ECC program is installed.

It was initially a police operation in 2021 in France that through Sky ECC managed to track down a host of criminal gangs.

The platform led to the capture of the infamous drug boss Darko Saric and the former head of Montenegro's high court.

Saric has been behind bars since 2014 when he was arrested on suspicion of smuggling 5.7 tonnes of cocaine from South America to Europe. In 2018, he was sentenced and sentenced to 15 years. Then, in 2021, the decision was overturned and a retrial was ordered. Saric was released late last year, but was placed under house arrest pending his retrial.

In Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro and Slovenia, almost 100 people have been arrested and charged as a result of evidence obtained by Sky ECC communications and broadcast by the French and Dutch, for crimes involving drug trafficking, murder and abduction.

On the same day that Saric was arrested in the Serbian capital, police in neighboring Croatia arrested 10 people in a joint operation with police in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Spain.

Sky devices offered self-destruct messages, an encrypted safe, and a panic button in case the user believed the device was compromised. Sky ECC was installed exclusively on secure devices from Apple, Google and Blackberry, which could be purchased online. All that was required of a user was to pay a subscription.

Only in a few cases in the Balkans have indictments been confirmed by the courts. And although investigations have uncovered links between public officials and crime figures, so far only a few of the former have been indicted.

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