Operation Ironside: FBI reveals more US arrest details in Aussie-led sting

The FBI has revealed more arrests have been made as part of Operation Ironside – the Australian-US crackdown on organised crime.

An Australian-led global sting which led to a “massive worldwide take-down” involving the interception of encrypted communications between underworld criminal networks has prompted some of the most “prolific” suspects to go on the run.

In a press conference in San Diego on Tuesday local time, Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of California, Randy Grossman announced the unsealing of a US federal grand jury indictment charging 17 alleged distributors of AN0M devices.

“These (indicted) defendants are charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act known as (RICO) for their alleged involvement in marketing and selling thousands of AN0M devices specifically to transnational criminal organisations,” Mr Grossman said.

The AN0M app appears on the screen of a smartphone. Picture: AFP

Mr Grossman said eight of the indicted defendants have been arrested and that nine remain fugitives following Operation Trojan, which the FBI described as part of a “massive worldwide take-down”.

AN0M, a black-market app, is only accessible on specially prepared mobile phones and allegedly used exclusively by underworld criminals to conduct illegal activity including international drug shipments, trafficking of arms and explosives, money laundering and contract killings.

But encrypted communications on the trusted devices were secretly intercepted on the platform covertly run by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) over the course of 18 months.

“Operation Trojan Shield shined a light into the shadowy industry of hardened encrypted devices,” Mr Grossman said.

“Every single person who used AN0M used it for a criminal purpose.

Acting US Attorney Randy Grossman detailed more arrests that were made as part of Operation Ironside. Picture: AFP

“The criminals using these devices believed they were secretly planning crimes far beneath the radar of law enforcement. But in reality, the criminals were not underneath the radar, they were on it.”

Suzanne Turner, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego office, said the defendants are “foreign nationals” accused of facilitating drug trafficking, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

“These were the most prolific distributors involved in marketing and selling thousands of AN0M devices to criminal organisations,” she continued.

In recent days, police forces have carried out more than 800 arrests in 16 countries and seized more than eight tons of cocaine, 22 tons of cannabis and two tons of synthetic drugs, as well as 250 firearms, 55 luxury vehicles and over $48 million in various currencies, according to Europol, the European police agency.

Arrests have been made around the globe as part of Operation Ironside. Picture: Supplied

Earlier, global law enforcement agencies revealed they had intercepted over 20 million messages in the global sting since the Australian Federal Police (AFP) started developing the AN0M technology three years ago.

In that time, more than 12,000 AN0M devices were sold to over 300 criminal syndicates, including Italian organised crime, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and international drug trafficking organisations, according to Europol.

The platform’s users believed the devices were secure and communicated in 45 languages about trafficking and drugs, arms and explosives, armed robberies, contract killings and more, authorities said.

“The messages were uncensored and provided a window into high-level offending committed by serious organised crime networks,” AFP Commander Jennifer Hurst said in a press conference.

“The captured data has given the AFP evidence and unique insights into how organised crime works in Australia and internationally — how they move drugs, money, guns and organise murders.”

The massive sting has been a global effort. Picture: Supplied

According to the FBI, the devices are typically purchased through word-of-mouth referral networks and offer robust data encryption tools.

They can also be wiped clean remotely if they fall into the hands of law enforcement.

Every feature of the devices, which sell for between $US1200 ($A1500) and $US2000 ($A2500), is designed for maximum secrecy and to avoid court-authorised access needed by law enforcement.

The devices deployed in the transnational operation, however, generated a carbon copy of each message for authorities to assess and analyse.

AN0M was taken down by the FBI on June 7, 2021.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a press conference on Tuesday that the operation “struck a heavy blow against organised crime — not just in this country, but one that will echo around organised crime around the world.”

Originally published as Operation Ironside: FBI reveals more US arrest details in Aussie-led sting