Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested hundreds of criminals around the world using a secret messaging app in a sting operation.
Gatekeepers News reports that the criminal gangs were tricked with an encrypted app called ANOM, which authorities used for monitoring millions of messages about drug smuggling, money laundering and even murder plots for months.
The operation which was carried out by Australian police and the FBI resulted in arrests from 18 countries across Australia, Asia, South America and the Middle East.
Gatekeepers News gathered that drug dealers in the UK were also among the criminals that fell for the app.
Australia said it had arrested 224 people, including members of outlawed motorcycle gangs, and seized 104 firearms, more than four tonnes of drugs and 35 million US dollars (£25m) in an ongoing operation that dates back to 2018.
Reece Kershaw, Federal Police commissioner, said the sting, called Operation Ironside in Australia, also shut down six clandestine laboratories and stopped 21 death threats.
Kershaw said one foiled murder conspiracy involved plans to attack a cafe with a machine gun, while a family of five was also saved.
New Zealand police, who called their sting Operation Trojan Shield, said they had arrested 35 people and seized drugs and assets worth millions of dollars.
Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison called the operation a “watershed moment”.
“Today, the Australian government, as part of a global operation, has struck a heavy blow against organised crime,” he said.
“Not just in this country, but one that will echo around organised crime around the world.”
Kershaw added: “We have arrested the alleged kingmakers behind these crimes, prevented mass shootings in suburbs and frustrated serious and organised crime by seizing their ill-gotten wealth.”
Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, who heads a New Zealand police group fighting organised crime, said the sting was formulated in 2018 after the FBI took down a previous secure app chosen by criminals, Phantom Secure.
Williams said that left a void in the market that authorities assisted fill with the ANOM app.
The app was installed on stripped-back mobile phones and its popularity grew organically in criminal circles after it was vouched for by some high-profile underworld figures, described as “criminal influencers”.
The gangs believed the system was secure because the phones did not have any other capabilities — no voice or camera functions were loaded — and the app was encrypted.
Kershaw said the messages were brazen and there was no attempt to hide behind any code.
“All they talk about is drugs, violence, hits on each other, innocent people who are going to be murdered,” he told a press conference.
Australian police have laid a total of 525 charges, with more expected in the coming weeks, while New Zealand police have laid over 900 charges concerning the 35 people arrested.
