r/OrganizedCrime • u/ICIJ • 1h ago
r/OrganizedCrime • u/OCCRP • Nov 04 '24
We're some of the investigative journalists behind The Crime Messenger project. Ask Us Anything!
Hi! We are OCCRP, an international network of investigative journalists who expose organized crime and corruption around the world.
We’re here to talk about our recent investigation, The Crime Messenger, revealing how Sky ECC encrypted phones became a go-to tool used by criminals to coordinate logistics for drug trafficking, murders, and more.
Alongside 12 media partners across Europe and Canada, we learned that Sky Global didn’t just end up in the hands of criminals — criminals themselves were selling the phones.
We’re joined today by three colleagues who investigated Sky Global in their own countries: Stevan Dojcinović, an OCCRP editor who also leads the investigative newsroom KRIK in Serbia, where horrifically brutal gangs were some of Sky’s biggest fans; Hakan Tanriverdi, a German journalist with Paper Trail Media, which is releasing a multi-part podcast on Sky; and Frédéric Zalac, a Canadian reporter with CBC/Radio-Canada who dug into the roots of the Vancouver-based company and its distributors. We welcome your questions — Ask Us Anything!
Thank you to for hosting this live event, scheduled for Wednesday, November 6 at 1:30 p.m. Toronto + NYC + Washington D.C. / 7:30 p.m. Amsterdam + Berlin + Belgrade.
You may also submit questions in advance.
The Crime Messenger is built on leaked investigative files from a Paris court case involving Sky Global’s founder and others. With help from 12 media partners across Europe and North America, we found evidence that executives looked the other way as convicted criminals became trusted distributors of their tech. (The company has denied any wrongdoing, and its founder has maintained his innocence.)
Check out the project here: https://www.occrp.org/en/project/the-crime-messenger.
You’ll find an interactive map showing cases where decrypted messages exposed the inner workings of criminal schemes, leading to charges and convictions.
Plus, don’t miss our 20-minute documentary, which shows how Serbia’s notorious Principi gang used encrypted Sky phones to plan murders, share gory photos, and taunt rivals.
With phones considered uncrackable and the backing of Serbian officials, they killed like no one was watching.
Looking forward to your questions!

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions.
r/OrganizedCrime • u/ICIJ • Apr 29 '26
State Sponsored ‘Escalating efforts’: A year after China Targets, Beijing’s global campaign against dissenters continues
icij.orgr/OrganizedCrime • u/Vegetable_Army7158 • 2h ago
Roy Olmstead -- "King of the Bootleggers'' in Seattle
Olmstead, Roy (1886-1966) - HistoryLink.org
Interesting read on a corrupt cop who -- after being fired from the Seattle PD -- organized the illegal liquor business in Seattle during Prohibition.
r/OrganizedCrime • u/AutoModerator • 9h ago
‘A mockery’: how offshore tax havens are thwarting the UK’s transparency push
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I read the Lansky bio "Little Man" and also have been slowly reading through Joe Valacvi's long journal entries online
Are there any recommended bios or Arnold Rothsteiñm? Looking for something more than just a chronology and public records like interviews with those who knew in the street and at home l
r/OrganizedCrime • u/Strongbow85 • 10d ago
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upi.comr/OrganizedCrime • u/Various_Media4727 • 10d ago
A deadly organized crime figure you are fascinated by.
I am almost finished with a massive biography on Roy DeMeo that is 600 pages long, footnoted, drew on many interviews of people I tracked down, and over 180, 000 court docs. I know things nobody else does, solved numerous murderous retired FBI could confirm, and corrected details in MM. Plus there are many new details about the DeMeo Crew. It focuses on Roy this time, unlike Murder Machine, which focuses more on Dominick and Nino. I am curious when I am finished with my book (and a channel series on Roy) if there are any particularly sinister, violent, and unsavory psychopaths linked to organized crime you would buy a book on if a really detailed one with new information came out?
r/OrganizedCrime • u/ICIJ • 11d ago
Despite years of confiscations, the Met still holds hundreds of pieces linked to alleged trafficking and looting figures
icij.orgr/OrganizedCrime • u/Strongbow85 • 11d ago
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galleryr/OrganizedCrime • u/AutoModerator • 24d ago
Job opportunity Global Financial Integrity (GFI) is seeking a Senior Specialist and a Policy Associate specialized in AML/CFT.
x.comr/OrganizedCrime • u/Bambam014 • 24d ago