The main Irish crime gang compromised by the global takedown of the “Ghost” encrypted messaging platform has taken the place of the Kinahan cartel as the largest group in Irish domestic drug dealing.
More Irish criminals were using the Ghost platform than organised crime figures from any other country in the world, with the exception of Australia where Ghost originated. Just more than 8 per cent of the devices, about 100 in all, being used to access the platform were operating in Ireland.
The Dublin gang that is now the primary target of the Irish element of the global inquiry into those organised criminals using Ghost is known as “The Family”. It is led by men from Ballyfermot and is now the biggest gang selling drugs in the Republic and also the largest group importing drug shipments into the State.
It is one of four major drug trafficking gangs in Ireland to be compromised by the takedown of the Australian-run Ghost platform. One of the four gangs was also effectively acting as agents for the platform in Ireland and was working to spread its use in the Irish underworld.
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The Ghost network was established nine years ago, allegedly by a 32-year-old man who lives with his parents in Sydney and who was arrested and charged on Tuesday with aiding organised criminals. However, the Australian Federal Police managed to infiltrate the network, via modified mobile phones it worked off, about six months ago.
The information gleaned in the international policing operation, which included the Garda, has been shared with the authorities in the US, Canada, Sweden, Iceland, France and Italy, among other countries.
What began as Operation Kraken in Australia has now resulted in 11 arrests this week in the Republic as well as the seizure of 153 phones, with 42 of those being used to access Ghost.
Gardaí have carried out 32 searches since the weekend, leading to the seizure of cocaine valued at €15.2 million, €350,000 in cash, €320,000 in cannabis, €100,000 in heroin and some cryptocurrency.
Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly, who leads the Garda’s Organised and Serious Crime branch, said the law enforcement operation across the globe aimed to “disrupt, degrade and dismantle” dangerous gangs.
Speaking at a Europol briefing on the operation in The Hague on Wednesday, he said “I can assure you, there will be further arrests” in Ireland.
Det Chief Supt Séamus Boland, the head of the Garda’s Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, said one of the four Irish gangs targeted was now the most significant drugs gangs in Ireland. Though he did not name the group, he clarified the Kinahan cartel was no longer the biggest drugs gang in Ireland or shipping drugs into the Republic.
Det Chief Supt Boland added Garda investigations were continuing into Irish gangs who were using the EncroChat messaging platform when it was infiltrated by international law enforcement in 2020. He said investigation files were being completed based on EncroChat evidence.
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