Most of the cell phone evidence presented to the High Court in the Oscar Pistorius trial was retrieved in South Africa using advanced mobile forensic technology that is readily available in the country. That’s according to Adam Victor, MD, Pandacom Distribution, a supplier of forensic products into southern Africa, who says that South African law enforcement agencies – like their counterparts overseas – are increasingly utilising this type of technology to solve crimes.
“In the Oscar Pistorius trial, very little, if any, additional information was retrieved from the mobile phones by experts outside the country. That’s because they use the same technology that was used by the South African forensic investigators involved in the case,” he says.
This technology, developed by Cellebrite Mobile Forensics, enables investigators to extract contact lists, pictures, videos, SMS and instant messages, as well as call histories – even if they have been deleted – from mobile devices and SIM cards.
There are many examples of crimes involving syndicates that have been solved using this technology. Once the law enforcement agencies are able to obtain just one of the phones used by a syndicate member, it has been used to unlock the details of past and potential future crimes, as well as to identify other syndicate members.
“In South Africa, imagine the impact this could have on rhino poaching or child trafficking syndicates,” Victor says.
“The availability of this technology in South Africa considerably strengthens the capability and capacity of our law enforcement agencies. It means we no longer have to rely on international experts to assist us in solving major crimes in our country,” he adds.
