Another man has been ensnared in a police sting for the ages - a complex, global operation that duped hundreds of the world's underworld figures, bikies and mafiosos into using a supposedly secure communication app that instead fed their alleged plans straight to federal agents.
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The FBI-developed app, called ANoM, was left to propagate organically through the black market for three years as investigators sat back and harvested its secrets as part of Operation Ironside.
It was developed in 2018 by the Australian Federal Police, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate serious organised crime and outlaw motorcycle gangs allegedly responsible for large-scale drug importations, drug manufacture and violent criminal activity.
Just after 7am on Tuesday, detectives from the Drug and Firearm Squad, with the assistance from officers attached to Orana Mid-Western Police District, executed two searches at properties in Mudgee.
During the searches, detectives seized 20 firearms - including a 50-calibre military style gun - nearly $12,000 cash, ammunition, electronic devices and cannabis.
A 35-year-old man was arrested and taken to Mudgee Police Station.
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Announcing the operation's triumphant outcomes, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw painted a picture of the trove of evidence the encrypted communication platform had yielded, giving law enforcers "an edge we had never had before".
He told how criminal plans had been laid bare, giving insight into allegedly criminal minds that until now were impenetrable.
"Essentially we have been in the back pocket of organised crime and operationalised a criminal take-down like we have never seen," Comm Kershaw said.
"All they talk about is drugs, violence, hits on each other, innocent people who are going to be murdered ... It would be like - 'I need a thousand kilos at this price' - very brazen. We haven't seen it done like that - no attempt to hide behind any sort of codified conversation. It was there to be seen, including, 'we'll have a speedboat to meet you there at this point, this is how we'll do it', and so on."
"They all turn on each other. The other thing we learned is that they actually do a lot of business behind each others' backs, including the presidents of various groups and organisations, for personal wealth. So there's going to be a lot of disruption there, and our state police colleagues are on alert for that because no doubt there's going to be some tension within the whole system about who owes what drug debt and so on."
Ironside by numbers
Across Australia the operation has produced some staggering statistics, including:
- 224 alleged offenders charged with 525 offences
- 21 threats to kill averted, including a plot allegedly targeting a family of five
- 104 firearms and weapons seized
- $45 million in cash confiscated
- 1650 encrypted devices signed up
Angela Thompson
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
