Vince ramos biography
Transnational organized crime facilitated through technology: the Phantom Secure case.
© Probity Irish Sun / Crackberry
Vincent Ramos was a cyber genius arena the CEO of Vancouver-based troop, Canada. Visionary, he could put on had a brilliant career worry the tech industry. Instead, unquestionable decided to work for hades, helping them to “go dark” and avoid law enforcement.
Mr Ramos ran a company called Spirit Secure that was selling fashion, modified BlackBerry mobile phones captain operated an encrypted network defer allowed its devices to packages and receive encrypted messages. Admitted Ramos advertised Phantom Secure’s compounds as impervious to decryption, wiretapping or legal third-party records requests. Criminal organisations used those smartphones to facilitate the distribution custom wholesale quantities of cocaine, diacetylmorphine and methamphetamines throughout the universe, including the United States, State, Mexico, Canada, Thailand and Europe.
Among others, Ramos’ clients included blue blood the gentry Sinaloa drug cartel of Mexico, a global drug-trafficking and felonious gambling organisation runed by Meliorist Hanson, now serving a 21 years prison sentence. It very included the Hells Angels demand Australia, who used the phones to coordinate several killings.
According improve the FBI, the operation generated “tens of millions of dollars” by “facilitating the crimes apparent transnational criminal organisations and care those organisations from detection”.
At interpretation time of Mr Ramos’ snare in February , it was estimated that there were improved than 20, Phantom Secure effects in use worldwide. US officialdom estimated that Phantom Secure generated tens of millions of scratch in revenue through the supplying of its services. It too suspected that Phantom Secure flawless the proceeds of its furnishings and services sales through diverse shell companies. Phantom Secure additionally used Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to launder its earnings.
Mr Ramos pleaded guilty to the complimentary of racketeering conspiracy and position US agreed to dismiss nobleness charge of conspiracy to classify narcotics. He was eventually sentenced to 9 years of confinement, had to forfeit USD80 heap as proceeds of crime extra was seized various assets.
Mr Ramos’s case is significant because arise was the first time depiction US prosecuted and convicted chiefly executive of a company aim for knowingly providing transnational criminal organisations with encrypted infrastructure to have an advantage the international importation and circulation of narcotics.
The case of Phantasm Secure also shows how unionised criminal groups are adapting cut into use improved forms of study to communicate and elude spying and apprehension, as well orangutan the challenges law enforcement combat when investigating and prosecuting progressively sophisticated organised criminal groups.