Currently, criminal networks have adapted their methods to the digital era, taking advantage of platforms such as Telegram, social networks, messaging applications, and the DEEP WEB to facilitate the sale and distribution of drugs. These digital tools offer anonymity and global access, allowing drug traffickers to operate with unprecedented impunity and efficiency. Escolta Digital PANDORA emerges as an innovative and essential solution to combat these challenges, providing security agencies with the necessary tools to track, identify, and dismantle drug trafficking networks in the digital environment.

Criminal intelligence is the process of gathering, analyzing, and using information to anticipate, prevent, investigate, and reduce criminal activity. This type of intelligence is primarily used by security forces and law enforcement agencies to identify criminal patterns, predict threats, and make informed decisions that help protect society. However, the term can also refer to the strategies and methods that criminals themselves use to improve the effectiveness of their illicit activities.

In the context of security forces, criminal intelligence involves the integration of data from various sources, both open and confidential, to develop profiles of criminals, identify criminal networks, and better understand the mechanisms of criminal activity. This can include analyzing communications, financial transactions, online movements and behaviors, as well as collecting data from digital platforms, such as social networks and encrypted messaging.

On the other hand, criminal intelligence is also used by criminals to increase the effectiveness of their crimes. Organized criminal groups use advanced techniques for collecting and analyzing information to evade detection by authorities, identify new opportunities for committing crimes, and develop strategies to minimize risks. This can include the use of advanced technology, such as encryption tools and automated bots, to manage their operations securely and efficiently.

Fusion of Criminal Intelligence in the Fight Against Digital Narco-Criminality

In the fight against digital narco-criminality, both security forces and criminals use criminal intelligence to achieve their objectives. Data collected over an 18-month period revealed how drug traffickers use encrypted channels and advanced technologies, such as bots, to automate sales and payments, reducing the need for human interaction and increasing the security of their operations.

Escolta Digital PANDORA allows law enforcement agencies to counter these tactics by using advanced analysis tools. For example, PANDORA’s ability to identify and monitor groups of drug traffickers on digital platforms allows analysts to map connections between different actors and anticipate criminal movements. This provides law enforcement with an advantage in the fight against criminal networks that use their own criminal intelligence to avoid detection.

By merging these two perspectives, the importance of criminal intelligence is evident both for preventing and combating crime and for understanding and anticipating the tactics used by criminals. This comprehensive approach is essential for effectively addressing narco-criminality in the digital era.

Criminal intelligence is crucial in the fight against digital narco-criminality, especially in an environment where criminal networks use advanced technologies to hide their operations. From March 2022 to August 2023, critical data was collected that reveals the scale and sophistication of these illicit activities on digital platforms. During this period, 1,730 different listings of illicit substances were offered by 60 providers, who in turn sold more than 30 different types of drugs. These activities were carried out through 22 distinct channels or groups on TELEGRAM, many of which had more than 1,000 members and used bots to automate purchases and sales, reducing the need for direct human interaction, allowing these groups or channels to remain active in sales and distribution 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

PANDORA enhances criminal intelligence by providing advanced tools for real-time monitoring/cyber patrolling, network analysis, and detection of suspicious patterns. For example, it can be effective in identifying specific channels and groups where these providers operate, allowing law enforcement agencies to track the communications and transactions of criminals with unprecedented precision. Additionally, PANDORA’s ability to analyze high-value listings operations enables analysts to focus on the most significant and potentially dangerous operations. This detailed information could help transform large volumes of unstructured data into actionable intelligence, allowing law enforcement to make more accurate decisions to intercept criminal activities and arrest those responsible before they can cause further harm.

To address these challenges, PANDORA provides a range of advanced tools specifically designed to combat narco-criminality on digital platforms. Through its PANAL module, which allows analysts to input identifiers such as usernames, phone numbers, or email addresses to conduct searches in various open sources, collecting and organizing relevant data that can be used to delve deeper into the investigation of relevant profiles.

1. Monitoring or Cyber Patrolling of Digital Platforms: with PANDORA, we facilitate the constant surveillance of platforms such as Telegram, allowing security agencies to identify and track groups and channels used for illicit activities. This includes the ability to monitor in real-time and capture data before it is deleted or self-destructs, which is crucial in investigations where time is essential.

2. Analysis of Relevant Profiles: Using advanced OSINT techniques, PANAL can map usernames, phone numbers, or email addresses to conduct searches in various open sources, collecting and organizing relevant data that can be used to deepen the investigation of different actors within the narcotrafficking network. This functionality could allow not only identifying direct sellers but also their suppliers, helping to dismantle the entire network.

3. Investigation: PANDORA’s ability to operate in different applications and digital content media allows investigators to access online illegal markets where drugs and other illicit goods are sold, facilitating the identification and dismantling of these markets by tracking transactions and monitoring suspicious activities, including operations in cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, etc.).

The use of advanced cyber intelligence technologies is supported by studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of these tools in the fight against disinformation and online criminal activity. According to recent studies, open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts or cyber intelligence analysts play a crucial role in identifying criminal networks and combating disinformation and narco-criminality on digital platforms. Additionally, some research highlights how the correct collection of evidence and advanced analysis can significantly accelerate investigations and improve the response capacity of security forces.