International effort takes down secure criminal communications network

Cooperation between international law enforcement agencies has led to the downfall of an encrypted network the FBI says was used by drug traffickers and criminal organization leaders for secure communications.

Phantom Secure was, until recently, a Canada-based service that bought and stripped smartphones of most of their functionality, leaving them instead with an encrypted email system that restricted them to connecting with one another. For its customers, it operated on a referral basis–everyone had to have the reference of at least one other user.

“Working with our international partners in Australia and Canada, we learned that these phones have been used to coordinate drug trafficking, murders, assaults, money laundering, and all sorts of other crimes,” Special Agent Nicholas Cheviron of the FBI’s San Diego Division, who helped investigate the case, said. “By shutting down Phantom Secure, criminals worldwide no longer have that platform to conduct their dangerous criminal activities.”

While the network’s founder, Vincent Ramos, was arrested, the collaboration of enforcement agencies believes that most of the network’s 10,000 to 20,000 users are top-level leaders of criminal organizations that span the United States and other countries. Four of Ramos’ associates are now fugitives, charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act violations.