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    FBI arrests CEO of company selling custom BlackBerrys to gangs

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    03.11.2018

    Custom, extra-secure BlackBerry phones remain a staple of the criminal underworld, and a recent bust just illustrated this point. Motherboard has learned that the FBI arrested Vincent Ramos, the founder of the well-established phone mod seller Phantom Secure, for allegedly aiding criminal organizations that include the Sinaloa drug cartel. The company altered BlackBerry and Android devices to disable common features (including the camera and web browsing) while adding Pretty Good Privacy for encrypted conversations. And it wasn't just turning a blind eye to the shady backgrounds of its customers, according to investigators -- it was fully aware of who was involved.