Electronic surveillance

RCMP tracked cellphones, cracked messages in mob surveillance case

The RCMP used covert wireless signal catchers to intercept and descramble BlackBerry messages in a huge organized crime investigation in Montreal that this spring resulted in the conviction of alleged mobsters in a murder conspiracy.

A judge today lifted a publication ban on details surrounding the shooting death of Salvatore (Sal the Ironworker) Montagna, a high-ranking member of a New York crime family killed outside Montreal in 2011.

The court records detail covert tactics used by the RCMP to identify the suspects' cellphones, which enabled police to then intercept their messages.

However, many questions remain unanswered — such as the device used to capture the men's cell signals, how and where police intercepted their messages and the role BlackBerry played in helping to decrypt the communications.