UK's Bristol Police Suspected of Possessing Cell Phone Surveillance Devices

A strong evidence exists that at least six police forces in the UK city of Bristol have the technology that allows tracking cell phone texts and calls, local media reported Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some Bristol police forces acquired IMSI-catchers, the technology that acts as a cell tower, tracing the location and International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of phones in its range, The Bristol Cable magazine reported.

Evidence strongly suggests 6 UK police forces bought controversial devices to hear 1000’s of calls in 8km radius. https://t.co/3GGdOGdtLC pic.twitter.com/iGwbxXgM1B

— The Bristol Cable (@TheBristolCable) 10 октября 2016 г.

According to the magazine, the budget of certain police forces in Bristol contained items that referred to phone surveillance, but it remained unclear if the technology had ever been used and if so, under what circumstances.

Previous suspicions regarding the purchase and use of the technology are said to have been linked to London's Metropolitan Police.