A tracking device was found under a car. The battery-powered device was attached with strong magnets under the body of the car, in the rear, just past the bumper.
A tracking device was found under the car of an activist who had been arrested two days earlier on an outstanding warrant. It was attached under the rear axle of the car with strong magnets. The device included a battery, a cellular antenna and a SIM card.
A GPS tracker and a microphone were found in a car. The device was attached with strong magnets. It contained a SIM card.
An AirTag — a tracking device marketed by Apple — was found taped under a bike. It had a diameter of about 3.5 centimeters.
An AirTag — a tracking device marketed by Apple — was found on a scooter. It was hidden inside the scooter seat cushion, in which it was inserted through a slit apparently made with some sort of blade. It had an approximate diameter of 3 centimeters and a height of less than 1 centimeter.
Two GPS trackers were found under a vehicle (the second one was found a few days after the first one was found and removed). They were attached with strong magnets in a hollow space between the plastic covering of the bumper and the body, precisely behind the left rear wheel. Each tracker consisted of two metal cases connected by a cable. The first one contained a battery pack, and the second one the tracker itself, including a smaller battery, two antennas, and a SIM card.
The pictures of the device show that a tracker of model NavKos T, marketed by the german company DESAG Telematic, was part of the device. This suggests that the device was supplied by the german company DESAG Telematic.
A GPS tracker and an audio recording device were found in a car. They were located behind a panel of the front ceiling light. They were connected by a power cable and drew their power from the supply line to the rear ceiling light. The GPS tracker contained, among other things, a GPS receiver “u-blox MAX-M8”, a card slot with a 16 GB microSD card, a cellular chip “u-blox LISA-U230” along with a Telekom SIM card, as well as a removable three-pin antenna module. The audio recording device contained a voltage converter, a 3.7 V, 550 mAh lithium-ion battery, and a small circuit board which included a 32 GB microSD card and the “NN01-104” antenna from the company Ignion (formerly “Fractus”). The audio recording device tapped into the hands-free system's existing microphone, which was located behind a cover above the rearview mirror.
A tracking surveillance device and two microphones were found in a car. The tracking device was connected to the power supply of the control unit underneath the steering wheel on the left-hand side. It was attached with a magnet, insulating tape and a heating cloth. The microphones were located at the end of a long cable running along the inside of the internal side pillar linings of the windscreen to the underside of the roof of the car. The tracking device used the GLONASS positioning system, and consisted of an antenna connected to a multi-frequency positioning receiver box containing a micro SIM card.
A GPS tracker was found under a car. It was located in the lower right body frame. In September 2020, the owner of the vehicle had been accused as part of an investigation into the arson of several cell towers, before being cleared and released. The device was installed since may 2020, according to the cops.
A surveillance device was found inside the smartphone of the campaign manager of a Russian anti-corruption activist. It included a SIM card, microphone, GPS tracker, and a microcircuit to amplify the radio signal. Some of the phone components were modified to make room for the surveillance device. The device was installed when the owner of the phone was in custody and her phone confiscated. The device was probably installed by the FSB (Federal security service).
A GPS tracker and a microphone were found in a car. The two devices were installed separately, each in one of the front seat headrests. The headrests were opened and glued back together after the bugs were installed. Both devices were equipped with two batteries each. The first device, which was apparently the control unit, was equipped with a GSM module to send GPS data and recorded audio files to the cops via the SIM card. On the control unit itself, there was a GPS/GSM antenna, the connection to the batteries and a microphone. Inside the device, a SIM card from “Deutsche Telekom” was found. The second device seemed to be the actual audio monitoring device. It also had a battery connection, a smaller antenna and two microphones, which had been glued into the holes for the seat support, with anti-vibration padding. This device was equipped with an SD card, but there were no more audio files stored in it. Apparently, the SD card was used as a storage medium for the operating system data and for temporary storage of the recorded data. According to what was known at the time of discovery, the GPS tracker was installed in August 2019 and the listening device intended for “internal surveillance of a vehicle” during or after September 2019. These devices were obviously installed by the federal criminal police (BKA) in order to retrieve information on the persons accused in the present “criminal association” proceedings.
A GPS tracker was found on a motorbike. It was attached with a strong magnet. It was equipped with a SIM card and a battery.
A GPS tracker was found on a car. It was attached with a strong magnet. It was equipped with a SIM card and a battery.
A microphone and two GPS trackers were found in a vehicle. One of the trackers was attached with a magnet to the rear bumper, on the right side. The other one, along with the microphone, was placed in the air vents which were between the windscreen flap and the windscreen. The first tracker was equipped with an accumulator made of five 3.6V lithium batteries connected in a series, and a SIM card from Omnitel (former name of Vodafone Italia, an Italian operator). The other tracker was equipped with a SIM card from Movistar (Spanish operator). Although the use of an Omnitel card (operator which doesn't exist anymore) and a Spanish card was weird, it seemed these trackers were assembled by the same people and probably installed in the months preceding the discovery.
A GPS tracker and a listening device were found in the car of an Irish republican. The devices were hidden in the undercarriage of the car. Shortly after the discovery of the device, the home of the car owner was raided by the Special Detective Unit (SDU), and the vehicle was seized.
Two microphones and a GPS tracker were found in the car of one of the persons under investigation for the 15 September repressive operation (see the sources). Microphones were located above the driver's head, next to the junction of the car roof upholstery and the windscreen. The GPS tracker was located in the fuse box. Everything was powered by a connection to the headlights cable (headlights that were dysfunctional).
Two microphones and a GPS tracker were found inside a car. The microphones were placed inside the upholstery of the car roof, just above the driver's head. The GPS tracker was stuck to the car body with a magnet. The bugs were connected to the car power supply at the level of the pedals, just below the lever that opens the front trunk.
Two microphones, a GPS tracker and a transmitter were found in a car. Everything was positioned on the car body with magnets over the driver's door and linked to an electric cable carrying power to one of the lights inside the car. There was also an additional battery. The microphones were stuck with gum over the driver's and passenger's head seats. The power cable, battery, microphones and GPS were all linked to the transmitter. There was a TIM SIM card inside the transmitter.
Two microphones and a GPS tracker were found in a car. There was also a device equipped with an antenna, a SIM card from the TIM provider and a 16 GB memory card. The power cable was connected to the fuse box and to other wires located under the dashboard. Both microphones were located under the upholstery of the car roof and the wires arrived to the power supply through the car door. The magnetized GPS and the cards thingy with the antenna were hidden behind the speedometer. From what could be checked, everything had been placed in the car more than a year before the discovery and the microphones were recording even when the car engine was turned off, in a radius of several meters.
A GPS tracker was found in a car. The device was placed in the rear bumper, attached to the car body with magnets. It consisted in removable batteries and a Vodafone SIM card.
Microphones and a GPS tracker were found in a car. The device was placed in the fuse box. The car was having electrical problems (the battery had discharged twice in a month, sign of an abnormal electricity consumption).
Microphones and GPS trackers were found in two cars.
Microphones and GPS trackers were found in a car. The microphones were placed under the upholstery of the car roof, where the windscreen and the sun shields are. In one case the power cables reached beneath the wheel, in the other they were attached to the car lights.
A geolocation device was found on the car of an attendee to the Circumvention Tech Festival, a festival against Internet surveillance and censorship. The device was magnetically mounted inside of the left wheel well of the car. It consisted in a battery, a GPS antenna, a GSM antenna and a Movistar SIM card. The various components were wrapped in black tape and magnetically mounted to the car mudguard and frame. Several clues led to believe that the device may have been placed by cops from the “Cuerpo Nacional de Policía” (Spain national civilian police force).
A listening device and a tracking device were found on the car of an Irish republican. The listening device was attached to a rear wheel arch of the car by several powerful magnets. The tracking device was located under the opposite wheel arch. The listening device, able to monitor conversations inside and outside the vehicle, was powered by 12 long-life batteries. The tracking device also appeared to be battery-powered.
A GPS tracker and a listening device were found on the car of an Irish republican. Parts of the device — battery packs and a transmitter — were hidden behind the car rear bumper.
A tracking device was found on a truck. It was attached with a magnet to the frame of the truck.
A tracking device was found on the van of an Irish republican. The device was hidden beneath a wheel arch of the vehicle. It was encased in black rubber, contained a long life battery pack and was marked with a British military serial number. Shortly after the discovery of the device, the home of the van owner was raided by police forces in an apparent attempt to retrieve the device.
Two bluetooth listening devices and a tracking device were found in the car of an Irish republican. The devices were hidden on the underside of the driver's seat, underneath carpet in the rear passenger footwell and affixed behind the rear seats.
A GPS tracker was found under the car of an anti-militarist activist. It was attached with magnets under the right rear bumper. It was the same model as the device found in Leipzig in may 2013, “GPRSpack”. It contained batteries, a GPS receiver and a GSM module to send the collected data.
The GPRSpack device was developped as a collaboration between the BLKA (Bavarian Landeskriminalamt, State Criminal Police Office of Bavaria) and the German company EBS Electronic. In 2017, EBS Electronic, together with another company, became the German company EBS-SYSTART.
- GPRSpack.pdf: usage guide of the GPRSpack device (in German).
A GPS tracker was found under a car. It was attached with magnets inside the rear bumper of the vehicle. According to the article that reported the discovery, the device model was “GPRSpack”. It contained batteries, a GPS receiver and a GSM module to send the collected data.
The “GPRSpack” device was developed as a collaboration between the BLKA (Bavarian Landeskriminalamt, State Criminal Police Office of Bavaria) and the German company EBS Electronic. In 2017, EBS Electronic, together with another company, became the German company EBS-SYSTART.
- GPRSpack.pdf: usage guide of the GPRSpack device (in german).
A tracking device was found under the car of a member of an antifascist group. It was hidden in the wheel well of the car. It was planted by cops from the Staatsschutz (“State security”). The owner of the car caught the cops while they were tampering with her car in the garage of her workplace.
Two GSM-type microphones with GPS tracker were found in a car. The devices were placed inside the car ceiling (that hosted the small interior light). It consisted in Vodafone mobile phones, with a transformer and antennas with a printed circuit board. Microphones were pointed towards the front seats.
A listening and geolocation device was found on a scooter. The device components were located in the spare wheel bracket, next to the tank and behind the horn grid. The device was based on a device sold by Telit (an Italian supplier of wireless technologies). The device model was Telit GM862-GPS. It was capable of listening with a microphone, geolocating with a GPS antenna, and transmitting the collected information on the telephone network with a GSM antenna. The device was placed in the spot where the tank is along with a transformer and an accumulator. Both antennas (GPS and GSM) were connected to the device and ended up in the spare wheel bracket. The microphone, also connected to the device, ended up behind the horn grid. Wires connected the device to the scooter starting system. All these components were stuck to the scooter frame by strong magnets secured by tape. This scooter model doesn't have a battery (it dates back to the 1980s) and its engine generates alternating current, hence the presence of a transformer and an accumulator to guarantee the good functioning of this equipment even when the scooter was not moving.
- Telit-GM862.pdf: product description of the Telit GM862-GPS device (in English).
A GPS tracker was found under the car of an Irish republican. It was located inside the car's rear bumper and attached to the vehicle with magnets. Shortly after the device was discovered, the car was seized by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and returned to the owner after a number of hours.
A GPS tracker was found under a car. It was located in the car bumper. The device included a GPS antenna.
A geolocation device was found in the car of members of a support committee to the defendants in the Tarnac affair (in trial for the sabotage of a high-speed train catenary which took place in 2008). The device was placed behind the car battery ventilation grids. It consisted in a small black case of 9 by 5 centimeters, connected with wires to the car electrical system. Inside, two printed circuit boards including a passive antenna, a geolocation device branded Navman and an Orange SIM card to transmit the data.
A GPS tracker was found under the truck of a member of the Nunatak magazine. The device was attached with a magnet under the back of the vehicle. It consisted in Vodaphone SIM cards connected to 4 “torch” batteries in a series.
A GPS tracker and a microphone were found in a car. The device was placed between the car body and the interior coating, and attached with two magnets. It was connected to the power supply by the car interior light wires. It consisted in a modified mobile phone, an antenna, a GPS and a microphone.
A GPS tracker was found under the car of a member of AFA (Animal Freedom Aotearoa). It was attached to the car with magnets, and used a mobile phone connection to report the car position. According to the articles that reported the discovery of the device, the information collected by the device was sent to Thompson and Clark, a New Zealand private investigation agency. The surveillance was probably carried out on behalf of a company targeted by the activists.
According to the articles that reported the discovery of the device, the device was supplied to the private investigation agency Thompson and Clark by the New Zealand company Argus Tracking. As shown by the high resolution pictures of the device, its model was GT-2000XT-D, and it was very similar to the device GT-2000, marketed by the company based in United Kingdom Custodia Systems.
- GT2000.pdf: product description of the GT-2000 device (in English).
- levin-2010-04.zip: very high resolution pictures of the device.
A GPS tracker and microphones were found in a car. The device was placed in a plastic container (badly) sticked under the roof. It contained two boxes, both of which contained a “base” mobile phone with a SIM card. From there wires went out, passing by a hole up to under the back seats. There were two microphones passing by the seat belt canal: the first at the driver's height, the second at the height of the levers used to adjust the seat, next to the back seats. The antenna was behind the back seat. Finally, still coming from these two boxes, was a wire that went through the car doors to reach the car fuse box.
A GPS tracker and a listening device were found under the car of someone linked to Irish republicans. Part of the devices was located under the car bumper. The listening device was able to use a microphone to convey conversations within the vehicle over a mobile phone network.
A GPS tracker was found under the car of Marius Mason, member of the ELF (Earth Liberation Front). It was attached to the car with magnets. About a month later, Marius Mason was arrested by agents of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and later sentenced to 22 years in prison for arson attacks.
A tracking device was found under the car of a left-wing nationalist activist.
A GPS tracker was found in a car. It was attached with strong magnets in the front wheel well on the passenger's side. It contained a set of high-power batteries, a GPS receiving antenna, a module for data processing and a mobile radio transmitting module with a transmitting antenna. The whole thing was wrapped with black tape. The device was planted by the BKA (Bundeskriminalamt, Federal Criminal Police Office).
A GPS tracker was found under the car of an anti-fascist activist. The device was attached with magnets under the rear bumper. It was equipped with a battery. When it was discovered, it was flashing a green light at short intervals.
A GPS tracker was found under the car of an animal rights and environmental activist. It was located under the car rear bumper. The device included a battery pack, a GPS antenna, a transmitter-receiver module and powerful magnets. It was installed by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation).
GPS trackers were found under three cars belonging to animal rights activists with ties to the ALF (Animal Liberation Front). They were attached by powerful magnets behind the rear bumpers on the driver's side. Each device contained a battery pack made of four lithium D cell batteries, a GPS antenna, a cellular antenna and a main component box. The component box contained a GPS receiver, a computer chip and a cellular modem. All the components were wired together. According to the activists, the devices were probably planted by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation).
A listening and tracking surveillance device was found in a car used by Irish republicans. The device was built into the body of the car in such a way as to make it impossible for anyone carrying out repairs on the vehicle to find the device. It was able to track the location of the vehicle, record and transmit audio, and could be switched off and on by remote control. It included a microphone built into the middle of the roof of the vehicle, as well as rechargeable batteries wired to the car in such a way as to allow recharging only while the car is running. The wiring, which connected each part of the device, ran along the skin of the car.
A tracking device was found under the car of a person under investigation for burglaries. It was attached with two magnets. It was a small box with an antenna.