Montreal cops bust 20 as social media platforms used to offer 'criminal contracts'
· Toronto Sun
Montreal police announced on Thursday they had made 20 arrests and garnered important criminal intelligence thanks to a program that sees them monitor plans for criminal activities on social media.
Police said the Aurora project allows them to “to detect and prevent serious crimes orchestrated on social media. Thanks to a structured monitoring system active day and night, Aurora allows (police) to maximize (their) intervention capacity in advance of violent crimes targeting businesses.”
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Over the past six weeks, the project has allowed for increased surveillance on social media platforms used to offer “criminal contracts, whether arson, shootings, or home invasions,” police said.
“Analyzing coded vocabulary, (the program allows police to quickly detect) the risk of imminent offenses, and ensuring immediate coordination between different units help prevent crimes from being committed.”
Many of the alleged suspects solicited for the contracts are teens aged 14 to 17 who are rarely paid what they are offered for the crime they agree to commit, police said.
“The individuals who use social media to offer or accept criminal contracts should know that these platforms no longer protect them,” said Det.-Sgt. Maya Alieh of the Montreal police force’s specialized cyber investigations unit. “Our tools and investigative techniques allow us to trace them and they will have to answer for their actions before the law.”