Crofton Black

I'm Crofton Black. I'm a reporter at Lighthouse Reports.

I'm Crofton Black. I'm a reporter at Lighthouse Reports.

Well, this article was like a big team effort, right? Because, I mean, first of all, we at Lighthouse, we wouldn't have got involved in it without the work that Inside Story and Grease did.

Well, this article was like a big team effort, right? Because, I mean, first of all, we at Lighthouse, we wouldn't have got involved in it without the work that Inside Story and Grease did.

And, you know, for me personally, like working with those guys was just a huge privilege because, you know, they're so knowledgeable and so capable and the material they were able to dig up was like truly astounding in some cases.

And, you know, for me personally, like working with those guys was just a huge privilege because, you know, they're so knowledgeable and so capable and the material they were able to dig up was like truly astounding in some cases.

And, you know, I guess for me it was cool because, you know, I'm a plane tracking guy for a long time and, you know, I got into this business as a, you know, doing plane tracking stuff when I was tracking CIA rendition flights. So, you know, for me, it was kind of funny to do a story that combined those two things. That's never happened before, and I wonder if it'll ever happen again.

And, you know, I guess for me it was cool because, you know, I'm a plane tracking guy for a long time and, you know, I got into this business as a, you know, doing plane tracking stuff when I was tracking CIA rendition flights. So, you know, for me, it was kind of funny to do a story that combined those two things. That's never happened before, and I wonder if it'll ever happen again.

So, yeah, I've got a personal space in my heart for this story for that reason, really.

So, yeah, I've got a personal space in my heart for this story for that reason, really.

Tal's an Israeli entrepreneur, a longtime guy in the cyber business, formerly in the military, like a lot of those guys are, came out. And he was involved in in a very famous phone geolocation outfit called Circles back in the day.

Tal's an Israeli entrepreneur, a longtime guy in the cyber business, formerly in the military, like a lot of those guys are, came out. And he was involved in in a very famous phone geolocation outfit called Circles back in the day.

He had an outfit there called, I think, We Spear, We Spear, Why Spear, something like that.

He had an outfit there called, I think, We Spear, We Spear, Why Spear, something like that.

I think that's his rep. He's known as a guy who people call him a maverick. They say that he doesn't play by the rules, that he does unexpected things. And I think you could class that video in the category of unexpected things. Sure. I mean, I think it caused quite a stir when it came out in the first place amongst people who follow this kind of stuff. It was a

I think that's his rep. He's known as a guy who people call him a maverick. They say that he doesn't play by the rules, that he does unexpected things. And I think you could class that video in the category of unexpected things. Sure. I mean, I think it caused quite a stir when it came out in the first place amongst people who follow this kind of stuff. It was a

You know, it was like kind of, oh, wow, you know, this crazy video has appeared of, you know, we never normally see this stuff. And it obviously had a lot of ramifications for his business, which perhaps was unintended. I imagine it was unintended.

You know, it was like kind of, oh, wow, you know, this crazy video has appeared of, you know, we never normally see this stuff. And it obviously had a lot of ramifications for his business, which perhaps was unintended. I imagine it was unintended.

They move in, they search his premises, they arrest some employees, they go through his stuff, they impound the van, computer hardware, whatever. He's out of the country at the time. They put out an arrest warrant for him, an arrest warrant for his business partner, Avni. Tal Dillion, who was absent at the time, he returned voluntarily to Cyprus from wherever he'd been. That was March 2020.

They move in, they search his premises, they arrest some employees, they go through his stuff, they impound the van, computer hardware, whatever. He's out of the country at the time. They put out an arrest warrant for him, an arrest warrant for his business partner, Avni. Tal Dillion, who was absent at the time, he returned voluntarily to Cyprus from wherever he'd been. That was March 2020.