Hundreds of arrests have been made as a result of the operation dubbed ‘the sting of the century’ in which the FBI and Australian police have been secretly reading a secure chat app popular with organized crime for several years, leading them to hundreds suspected organised crime figures in 18 countries, various media report.
AFP press informed that Operation Ironside began almost 3 years ago and is the Australian component of a long-term, international, covert investigation targeting the dedicated encrypted communications platform used exclusively by organised crime.
It added that AFP and FBI worked together to fill the vacuum they created by taking down the encrypted platform provider Phantom Secure during Operation Safe Cracking.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said that criminals have been using the supposedly highly secure encrypted chat app ANOM – increasingly popular in criminal circles- installed on mobile phones bought on the black market and stripped of all other functions. But the app was covertly run by the FBI and Australian police helped to decrypt the encrypted communications, which allegedly included plots to kill, mass drug trafficking and gun distribution.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw pointed that these criminal influencers put the AFP in the back pocket of hundreds of alleged offenders and in perfect position to inflict maximum damage on organized crime.
Unsealed U.S. court records show that the FBI, in what was dubbed Operation Trojan Shield by the bureau, worked on exploiting ANOM by inserting into the market the app designed to attach a secret master key to every message sent
thought it, allowing agents to decrypt and store the message as it is transmitted.
FBI International Operations Division Legal Attaché for Canberra, Anthony Russo, thanked his Australian colleagues, saying that criminals around the world had long used encrypted criminal communications platforms to avoid law enforcement detection.
The AFP sting has led to 224 arrests of suspects linked to Australian-based Italian mafia, Asian and Albanian crime syndicates, as well as motorcycle gangs. In New South Wales (NSW) state alone, police detained 35 people, seized 27 guns, including a 50-caliber sniper rifle, and significant quantities of cocaine, cannabis, and MDMA.
According to Kershaw’s statement, Australian police thwarted 21 murder plots, closed six drug labs, seized 104 pieces of firearms and confiscated nearly $45 million in cash, 3.7 tons of drugs and a number of luxury sports cars, including a Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Bentley.
As part of the same operation, New Zealand Police arrested 35 people and seized $3.7 million in assets, including drugs, firearms, and vehicles.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison underlined that the success of Ironside will echo around organized crime around the world.
Be the first to comment