Combating drugs and gang violence with digital forensics

Violent crime continues to be a serious problem in many major metropolitan areas, often fueled by the complex and intertwined networks of drug trafficking and gang activity. Some 33,000 violent gangs are active in the U.S., engaged in a variety of illegal activities, including robbery, drug and gun trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, racketeering, and fraud. Many of these criminal groups are sophisticated and well-organized.

From 2021 to 2024, federal law enforcement reported more than 69,000 incidents involving gang activity. The close relationship between drug crimes and gang violence perpetuates one another, creating a dangerous cycle that can devastate communities.

The deep connection between drugs and gangs

Drug trafficking is the financial backbone of many gangs. Control over drug sales not only generates significant revenue but also serves as a source of power and influence within neighborhoods. This creates fierce competition between rival gangs, often escalating into violent confrontations, retaliations, and shootings.

Gang members frequently rely on encrypted messaging apps and social media platforms to coordinate their activities—whether it’s arranging drug deals, signaling rival movements, or planning violent acts. The digital footprints left behind, when properly analyzed, can provide investigators with invaluable insights into these otherwise hidden networks.

Challenges faced by law enforcement

Investigating drug and gang-related violent crime is notoriously challenging. The fast-paced, secretive nature of these criminal networks means that by the time law enforcement gathers physical evidence, suspects may have already dispersed, altered their plans, or deleted incriminating data.

Additionally, devices seized in investigations such as smartphones, tablets, cloud data, and more— are often protected by passcodes or encryption, preventing quick access to crucial evidence. The sheer volume of data, ranging from messages and call logs to location data and multimedia, requires the right digital forensic tools to sift through massive volumes of information and find meaningful connections.

How Magnet Graykey breaks through barriers

This is where Magnet Graykey plays a crucial role. Graykey can quickly and reliably bypass passcodes and extract data from locked iOS and Android devices. Graykey also helps prevent data loss caused by features that trigger automatic reboots—potentially making previously accessible data inaccessible. This risk is mitigated through Graykey’s Evidence Protection Mode or Graykey Preserve.

Learn more about preserving mobile data on the Investigators Corner (login required) with our webinar: Preserving your iOS extractions with Magnet Graykey and Graykey Preserve

Making sense of the data with Magnet Axiom

Once data is extracted, the challenge shifts to processing, analyzing, and reporting evidence. Magnet Axiom is a powerful digital forensics platform designed to aggregate data from multiple devices and sources into one unified case file.

Axiom offers advanced search and filtering capabilities, enabling investigators to quickly identify gang-related keywords, narcotics references, and communication patterns. Features like Route View and Timeline Analysis help reconstruct suspect movements and the sequence of events, providing critical context to seemingly disconnected data points.

Axiom’s user-friendly interface allows both technical examiners and investigative teams to collaborate effectively. Mobile View, designed with non-technical users in mind, helps investigators filter out irrelevant data and focus on what matters most: valuable evidence. Visual reports generated by Axiom and Exhibit Builder further simplify complex data, making it understandable for detectives, prosecutors, and juries.

Real-world impact: turning evidence into action

Consider a case where a series of shootings was linked to a local drug turf war. Investigators seized multiple suspects’ phones, many of which were locked and password-protected. Using Magnet Graykey, they extracted messages and location data revealing coordination between gang members, times and places of drug exchanges, and plans for retaliation.

Processed with Axiom, the data forms a clear timeline and visual route of suspects’ movements corresponding with crime scenes. The ability to quickly identify and share this information speeds up arrests and enables prosecutors to present compelling evidence that leads to convictions. While this example is illustrative, it underscores the power of combining these forensic tools to quickly and effectively untangle complex criminal networks.

Protecting communities through faster, smarter investigations

By accelerating access to digital evidence and making it easier to analyze, Magnet Graykey and Magnet Axiom empower law enforcement to respond faster to violent crime rooted in drugs and gang activity. This not only helps to bring perpetrators to justice more efficiently but also disrupts ongoing criminal operations, reducing violence, and improving public safety.

Tackling gang-related violent crime requires untangling a web of interconnected communications and movements. But the data tells a clear story once it’s been accessed and analyzed—and that’s exactly what these tools are built to do.

Learn more about Magnet Forensics Solutions

To learn more about the mobile capabilities provided by Magnet Graykey visit the Magnet Forensics Investigators’ Corner (login required).

To see the intuitive analytical tools for mobile data, as well as cloud, computer and vehicle, available in Magnet Axiom and to try it for yourself, request a free trial today!