Drug Trafficking is not a new thing for Nepal Police. During the last fiscal year, 4,259 people were arrested for their association with drug smuggling. Due to poor security checkups, Nepal has been used as a transit point to smuggle drugs through the airport. Recently, after tightening the airport security, dealers have gotten caught by the narcotics bureau.
Lately, a snapshot of the 2019 case has been released by Cellebrite – a digital intelligence agency. To begin, a 25-year-old Portuguese man Mendes Pereira Tiago was arrested at Tribhuvan International Airport carrying Rs. 20 million worth 5 kg methamphetamine – a smokable drug. The authorities confiscated a Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro mobile phone from the suspect.
Drug Smugglers Chased Through Cell Phone
On 22 July 2019, the police found a suitcase with prohibited drugs while checking in the Tribhuvan International Airport. Narcotics Bureau arrested the man and took him for investigation. Mendes, the man who was held for the crime, was not cooperating with the police during the inquiry. Therefore, authorities decided to check his mobile phone.
Further, the primary challenge was to access the data from the suspect’s device. In addition, the investigators used UFED 4PC – mobile-based forensic software, Cellebrite Physical Analyzer, and Cellebrite UFED Cloud to unearth the grounded information.
These tools helped the Nepal Police to create serial scrutiny. A senior forensic officer says, “More valuable than the seizure of the drugs, however, was the suspect’s Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro mobile phone (model number: SM-J250F). The data proved invaluable in leading investigators to other suspects connected to a larger criminal network.”
The Preliminary Results
The digital intelligence specialists topped three solutions seeking precious information. The use of UFED 4PC and Cellebrite Physical Analyzer enhanced the investigation.
Firstly, they uncovered and performed a full physical extraction of the suspect’s mobile phone. It is used via the Bootloader method. This helped to unlock the device without any faults. Secondly, after successfully unlocking the device, the investigators accessed and gathered the data. Finally, the scrutineers used the process of decoding and analyzing data to collect the wireless history.
Moreover, the details of wireless connections were revealed – which helped to track other drug dealers. The researchers accumulated the detainee’s contact list, communications, and other important details. In addition, the experts extracted data from 14 different sources such as Google, WhatsApp, Facebook, and so on.
Furthermore, with these data, three more suspects were arrested from different parts of the world. The amazing part of this investigation was using the phone only to assimilate several pieces of information related to the detainee.
The Final Results
After a successful search, the detainee’s trial has revealed. Also, the local drug dealers were discovered and arrested. Besides, police tracked the cartel connections globally. From Delhi to Japan, the dealers’ web was destroyed by Interpol. Mendes Pereira, the major culprit, is now under Nepal Police’s Narcotics Bueareu’s custody.
According to an officer, “The court confined the suspects into police custody for 90 days to complete the investigation and file a charge sheet with the court. The maximum sentence for a narcotics-related offense in Nepal is up to 20 years of imprisonment.”
Lessons To Learn
A few only had imagined the use of a single cell phone can lead to a successful covert operation. The officers from Nepal Police also are amazed to seek this kind of solution. Cellebrite’s UFED 4PC, Physical Analyzer, and UFED Cloud are the new methods to conduct an investigation.
Physical investigation is very important to collect small pieces of information; however, digital scrutiny is also equally significant for the process. In the upcoming days, the authorities should learn to use these kind of software for other types of crime.
