(REUTERS): Global law enforcement agencies hacked into an app used by criminals and read millions of encrypted messages, leading to hundreds of arrests of suspected organised crime figures in 18 countries.
The operation, jointly conceived by Australia and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), saw devices with the ANOM app secretly distributed among criminals, allowing police to monitor their chats about drug smuggling, money laundering and even murder plots.
The law enforcement agencies ensnared suspects in Australia, Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East involved in the global narcotics trade. Over 800 suspected gangsters were arrested and $148 million in cash seized around the world. Tons of drugs were also seized.
Named Operation Trojan Shield by the FBI, it was one of the biggest infiltrations and takeovers of a specialised encrypted network. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the operation had “struck a heavy blow against organised crime” around the world.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said police there had arrested 224 people, including members of outlawed motorcycle gangs, while New Zealand said it had detained 35 people. In Europe, officials said 75 Swedish suspects were arrested and over 60 detained in Germany. Forty-nine were arrested in Holland.
Australian fugitive and alleged drug trafficker Hakan Ayik was the key to the sting, having unwittingly recommended the app to criminal associates after being given a handset by undercover officers, police said. The gangs believed the system was secure because the phones did not have any other capabilities and the app was encrypted.
According to an FBI official, criminal groups in more than 100 countries were given the phones. “We have been in the back pockets of organised crime,” the official said, adding, “All they talk about is drugs, violence, hits on each other, innocent people who are going to be murdered.”
One murder plot that authorities got to know of involved plans to attack a cafe with a machine gun, while a family of five was also targeted. Authorities said they were able to prevent these attacks.
