Once again, a major international investigation (Argus) has provided detailed insight into the encrypted communications of criminal organizations. Investigative agencies succeeded in gaining access to hundreds of millions of messages from users of Sky ECC. As of mid-February 2021, this encrypted traffic could be read 'live'. Sky ECC's server was taken offline today and seized by Dutch authorities.
In a series of police actions, including in cooperation with the FIOD, 30 arrests were made across the country today and 75 homes and offices were searched. These included the seizure of 28 firearms in Rotterdam.
Previously, the Argus investigation led to the interception of large quantities of hard drugs. These included international seizures of thousands of kilograms of cocaine, heroin, hashish. In addition, several weapons were seized and drug labs were discovered and dismantled and millions of euros were seized. In the earlier actions, 43 suspects were arrested in the Netherlands.
There were also widespread arrests and searches in Belgium today.
The Argus investigation thus hit organized crime hard. International organizations involved in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering, violent settlements, etc. are completely dependent on shielded communications. The users imagine themselves safe and think this will keep them out of the hands of police and justice. The Sky ECC platform promised its users a secure global network.
Operation Argus follows the Lemont investigation, within which, in 2020, investigative agencies managed to read "live" over the shoulders of large numbers of criminals using EncroChat.
Against this background, the dismantling of Sky ECC is the superlative. Many EncroChat users switched to Sky ECC last year. The company is now the largest provider of crypto communications worldwide with some 70,000 users. In the Netherlands, about 11,000 Sky accounts have been assigned to Dutch users.
During the so-called "live" phase, dozens of planned serious violent crimes, including kidnappings, liquidations and shootings, were prevented in the Netherlands alone. Several hundred police officers from all units have been on standby in recent months and have been deployed to follow up on the intercepted messages. The focus was on investigators from the Amsterdam Unit and the National Unit. The Team High Tech Crime had a key role in the large-scale operation. Within the Prosecutor's Office, prosecutors from the National Prosecutor's Office and the Amsterdam Prosecutor's Office led the investigation.
Hundreds of millions of messages are stored and examined in a data warehouse. Currently, the results have already provided crucial information for several important criminal investigations.
The information obtained is expected to have an impact on organized crime in the near future. The information from Argus is also shared with a large number of foreign investigative agencies
For the Dutch investigative services and the Public Prosecution Service, a main goal of the international investigation was to tackle the provider of Sky ECC. This also provided a unique insight into the world of organized crime. The "live" phase prevented life-threatening situations and produced breakthroughs in criminal investigations. Moreover, on a national and international level, this investigation has identified, located and apprehended a number of major criminals.
