The special encrypted phones Jet develops are based on a real-life operation called Operation Trojan Shield. With the help of undisclosed hackers (who were arrested and offered the option to help with the project instead of being prosecuted) a joint task force between the FBI, ATF, DEA, INTERPOL, MI5 (British Federal Police), the Australian Federal Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and many other law enforcement agencies released specially developed smartphones into the criminal underworld. The criminals buying the phones were told they would be able to send untraceable messages to each other, when in fact each message they sent was intercepted by the task force. As of October 2021 over 800 arrests have been made, over 40 tons of drugs have been sized along with thousands of guns and hundreds of millions of dollars in currency, and the operation is still ongoing.
The bar that Kosta wanted Stabler to rob was actually owned by Luka, who Kosta previously yelled at and is supposed to be his son-in-law eventually.