In 2020, Boris, an anarchist from France, was accused of sabotaging a cell tower in Besançon, Doubs, France, in March 2020, and two cell towers on Mount Poupet in the Jura Mountains, France, in April 2020[1]. He was initially suspected when his DNA was found on a bottle cap at the foot of one of the burnt cell towers on Mount Poupet. The charges against him for the sabotage of the Besançon cell tower were later dropped for lack of evidence.
In a trial in 2021, Boris was sentenced to four years for the sabotage on Mount Poupet, with two to be served in prison and two on probation. After his trial, he publicly claimed responsibility for the sabotage in a text entitled “Why I burned the two antennas on Mount Poupet”[2].
Techniques used
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| ID checks | Investigators obtained and analyzed records of ID checks made by local police shortly before and after the sabotages, in different perimeters around where the sabotages took place, presumably hoping to find the names of the saboteurs in those records[1]. | |
| Interrogation techniques | When interrogating people close to Boris, investigators used elaborate lies to try to get information from them[1]. For example, the investigators vaguely suspected that the people being interrogated had hosted Boris in April 2020 and wanted to confirm their suspicion, so they asked, “Our investigation revealed that you let [Boris] stay with you in April 2020. How long did he stay with you?” | |
| Service provider collaboration | With the collaboration of mobile network operators, investigators intercepted calls from Boris's phone or the phones of people close to him[1]. They regularly listened to the intercepted calls in real time and used information from the calls to adjust ongoing physical surveillance operations. With the collaboration of the email provider, investigators gained real time access to an email address used by Boris: they were able to see emails sent and received in real time. | |
| Forensics | ||
| DNA | The only evidence against Boris was that his DNA was found on a bottle cap at the foot of one of the burnt antennas from the April sabotage[1]. When DNA was collected from someone close to Boris during a house raid, only eight and a half hours elapsed between the collection of the DNA trace and the result of its comparison with other traces collected earlier. | |
| Targeted digital surveillance | ||
| IMSI-catcher | Investigators used IMSI-catchers during physical surveillance operations to find the phone numbers of people Boris was meeting with — and then identified those people by asking mobile network operators for the names corresponding to the phone numbers[1]. | |
| Covert surveillance devices | ||
| Location | GPS tracking devices were placed under several vehicles after investigators learned that Boris — who did not have a driver license — was being transported in them[1]. In one case, investigators learned at 2:30 p.m. from an intercepted phone call that someone close to Boris was planning to borrow a vehicle and drive Boris to a party in the evening. They witnessed the vehicle being borrowed, followed it to the party, waited until it parked, and at 9:45 p.m. they had placed a tracking device on it. | |
| Video | Cameras were installed in the streets outside Boris's home and outside the home of someone close to him to film the entrances to the homes[1]. | |
| Physical surveillance | ||
| Mobile | For several weeks, investigators regularly staked out Boris's home and tailed him as he moved on foot, on bicycles, and in vehicles[1]. | |
| Mass surveillance | ||
| Police files | Investigators found out that the DNA on the bottle cap belonged to Boris because his DNA was in France's national DNA database[1]. Investigators obtained and analyzed records of local police activity (ID checks and fines) shortly before and after the sabotages, in different perimeters around where the sabotages took place, presumably hoping to find the names of the saboteurs in those records. | |
| Video surveillance | Soon after the April sabotage, investigators requested CCTV footage from businesses and municipal cameras, and lists of vehicles from automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and speed cameras, all within an extended perimeter of the sabotage site[1]. | |