The police and judiciary in Bavaria want to fight organized crime (OC) more intensively – and see the key to tapping criminals’ chats. Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann and Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (both CSU) emphasized three central aspects at a press conference at the State Criminal Police Office on Monday: the decoding of perpetrator communication on the Internet, close cooperation between national and international investigative authorities and asset recovery, i.e. the securing of loot.
Cracking and evaluating encrypted chats from criminals is becoming increasingly important in the fight against OC; In this way, deep insights into the interdependencies could be gained. As a successful example of this, LKA Vice President Guido Limmer called the smashing of the Encrochat communications service. In 2020, French investigators managed to crack criminals’ chats and passed information on to other authorities. According to Limmer, the Federal Criminal Police Office initiated 100 investigations, executed 60 arrest warrants and secured about a ton of drugs.
“Organized crime does not stop at national borders, it works in a network and digitally across countries,” said Eisenreich. That is why the judiciary and the police must act in an increasingly networked manner. More and more expert knowledge is also required. OK includes different crime phenomena such as forced prostitution, drug trafficking or cyber trading. That’s why you have experts from all areas who support the public prosecutor’s office.
In addition, we work closely with neighboring countries and European authorities. Public prosecutors in Bavaria close to the border have been strengthened: “Our special public prosecutors are investigating Bavaria’s potential entry points for international crime – from Munich and Memmingen airports to the Alpine region and the Waidhaus border crossing in the Upper Palatinate.” Eisenreich named the confiscation of assets as another tool against organized crime: “Crime shouldn’t pay.” In 2020, crimes worth a total of 12.6 million euros were provisionally secured.
Despite previous successes against the OK, Herrmann and Eisenreich see a need for further action. According to her statement, the federal government is obliged to ensure improvements: access to encrypted telecommunications must be facilitated in connection with the introduction of the 5G standard for mobile communications. In addition, timely regulation on the design of traffic data storage is necessary for effective combating. Eisenreich demanded: “In the case of serious crimes, our investigators need sufficient digital investigative powers.” Herrmann pleaded for the integration of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the fight against OC in all federal states – based on the Bavarian model.