Australia’s Mafia Man and his secret double life as an organised crime figure

This is Australia’s Mafia Man who cops secretly used to fool local criminals and global fugitives to give up their identities and networks.

Exclusive: A mafia heavyweight masquerading as a respectable businessman was the key local influencer police used to get their secret AN0M devices into the hands of serious criminals across Australia.

Police claim the Mafia Man was the main distributor of dedicated encrypted communications devices across Australia, with police describing him as the “Telstra shop’’ of the devices for the underworld.

The Australian Federal Police believe almost every AN0M handset in Australia can ultimately be linked back to the man, who they say has significant family links to the Calabrian Mafia.

They say they are confident that they will be able to prove he is a key participant in international drug-trafficking on a commercial scale, bringing drugs into Australia and distributing them onto the streets.

The mafia heavyweight masquerading as a respectable businessman.

It is not clear if he knows Hakan Ayik, the Australian fugitive based in Turkey who was used by police as their key international distributorof AN0M.

The device with the app installed circulated among the criminal underbelly and was used solely to communicate with other criminals.

It was impossible for ordinary Australians to inadvertently have their communications captured by police.

Mafia Man is well-known for his connections to horticulture and has appeared in the media and in trade journals talking about the industry.

But police claim he is secretly living a double life as a senior member of the Mafia, running his own criminal syndicate, and assisting several other transnational organised crime groups by facilitating their encrypted communications.

Hakan Ayik and his Mercedes Benz in Turkey. It is not clear if the two masterminds know each other. Picture: Supplied

AFP Detective Superintendent Gail McClure said police would allege Mafia Man worked with, or was involved in supplying encrypted devicesto organised criminals including the Italian mafia, Albanian organised crime networks, South American cartels, the Comanchero, Hells Angels and Lone Wolf bikie gangs and associates of the Rebels.

He is also alleged to be a hands-on drug trafficker and has first-hand knowledge of hydroponics, which police say allows him to organise the cultivation of large amounts of cannabis.

The AFP believe he is a senior member of the ‘Ndrangheta, a clan-based criminal network originating from Calabria in southern Italy and the most established Italian organised crime group operating in Australia.

They also believe he may have undergone training to assist with his encrypted communications role – not that it helped him identify he was giving police a direct line into organised crime.

Detective Superintendent Gail McClure said Mafia Man has a unique skill set which they discovered years ago.

The ‘Ndrangheta in Australia are known to work with other criminal syndicates including outlaw motorcycle gangs, Asian, Balkan and Lebanese organised crime groups as well as operate independently, importing drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine, and money-laundering the profits.

Members of Mafia Man’s extended family have been on the police radar since the early 1990s in Australia. Police targeted him as a likely influencer to push the original device to because they had identified him back in 2015 as the main distributor of Phantom Secure’s encrypted devices.

“He was a natural fit for police to target to distribute the Ironside devices based on his previous involvement in the Phantom Securedistribution network,’’ Det Supt McClure said.

“He may have been allocated the role of distributor given his skillset, experience, training or he may have been sponsored to complete the required technical training.

“Almost all Australian devices have a nexus to him in that they were personally provided to others by him or through third parties.”

Police targeted Mafia Man as a likely influencer because they had identified him back in 2015 as the main distributor of Phantom Secure’s encrypted devices.

She said when Operation Ironside started, Mafia Man was the sole Australian distributor of the platform and he initially saturated the martket in one state.

“Other distributors were put in place later in the operation,’’ Det Supt McClure said.

Police believe Mafia Man was able to get the devices into the hands of criminals across Australia and overseas including inItaly, Colombia, Spain and several Asian and European countries.

When Operation Ironside started Mafia Man was the sole Australian distributor of the platform and he initially saturated the martket in one state.

“His role as communications enabler to organised crime groups makes him a significant facilitator for serious criminal activity transnationally,’’ Det Supt McClure.

“He’s performed this role as communications expert/provider for a number of years.’’

Police said Mafia Man has used dedicated encrypted communications devices to further his own criminal activities, including large-scale trafficking.

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