Phase 2 of AN0M bust about to begin: Who is next on the hit list

The next phase of the AN0M bust is about to begin — with 160 Australians targeted by cops, who analysed millions of encrypted messages.

Lawyers, Mafia figures and bikies are among 160 people being targeted by police after being caught organising crimes, including drug-smuggling and money-laundering via the secret police Trojan horse app AN0M.

The Australian Federal Police have confirmed they are embarking on phase 2 of Operation Ironside, Australia’s largest sting operation, which has already resulted in the arrests of 311 Australians, and almost 1000 people cross the globe.

As early as Thursday, police expect to begin making dozens more arrests, after they spent six months analysing the millions of encrypted message they managed to decode and capture after they were sent via the encrypted platform AN0M.

So-called trusted insiders, who help criminal syndicates by facilitating the movement of drugs into and across Australia, such as people working at the ports, baggage handlers, and employees of transport companies and freight forwarders, are among those identified in the messages.

Further arrests will be made as the second phase of Operation Ironside begins. Picture: AFP

Other facilitators, such as lawyers, have also been outed, as have rubbish removal companies, which have been identified collecting drugs stashed in rubbish bins at maritime ports.

The man who oversaw Operation Ironside, AFP Assistant Commissioner Crime Command Nigel Ryan, said serious criminal syndicates had been unmasked, along with other people on the periphery of the syndicates, who provided assistance to drug-smuggling gangs and falsely believed they were invisible to law enforcement.

“You will see AFP or our state law enforcement partners executing search warrants across Australia in the coming months,’’ Assistant Commissioner Ryan said.

“It is just a matter of time before we scoop up those who believed they had gotten away with their crimes – like the alleged criminals who smashed or burned their AN0M devices.’’

Police will on Thursday release some of the intelligence they have collected from the messages sent via AN0M, including:

*Some criminal groups are using dive teams to attach and/or retrieve drugs imported into Australia on cargo ships. The drugs would either be secreted into the hull or thrown overboard before the vessel docked.

*In some instances, criminals purchased expensive equipment such as seabobs – small underwater scooters – to help them access the drugs. Some planned to paint these underwater scooters to be less visible. Intermediaries likely operated between the dive crews and criminal syndicates.

*Criminal syndicates used waste management services to pick up drugs hidden in bins at ports.

*Criminals shared legal advice over AN0M about which lawyers they were using and what legal advice they were provided in the event they were charged with drug trafficking.

*Some high-profile syndicates are moving offshore, creating ex-pat communities of Australian criminals.

Ammo seized as part of Operation Ironside from the house and car of an accused whose name has been suppressed.

In a world exclusive on June 8, News Corp Australia revealed the FBI and Australian Federal Police had spent three years secretly operating an encrypted platform called AN0M, which had been planted into the criminal underworld and tricked its users into thinking their conversations were secure.

In fact, the 25 million messages sent between 11,000 devices across the globe were being copied and read by the Australian Federal Police, after one of their cyber-geeks based in Canberra worked out a way to secretly unscramble the encrypted messages.

More than 19 million of the messages related to activities in Australia, and in news sure to send a shiver down the spine of some of the 1650 users in Australia who have not yet been paid a visit by police, the AFP revealed they had been analysing the information obtained, and identifying hundreds more users of the device, and other people involved in criminal activity.

“Those targets include outlaw motorcycle gangs, Italian organised crime, illicit drug distributors and trusted insiders – those who use their knowledge or connections at a workplace to facilitate crime,’’ the AFP warned.

The AFP, state and territory police have so far executed more than 700 search warrants, charged 311 people with 820 offences, seized 6.3 tonnes of illicit drugs, 139 weapons and $52m in suspected proceeds of crime.

Criminal syndicates will once again be targeted under the AFP-led Operation Ironside. Picture: AFP

In Australia, about 100 of those arrests are members or associates of bikie gangs, with some clubs, including the Comanchero, essentially put out of business in some areas of Australia.

Globally, 993 suspects were arrested after 1042 search warrants were executed, resulting in 42 tonnes of illicit drugs being seized, along with 220 firearms and more than US$58m in cash and crypto-currency.

Police said the intelligence obtained from the AN0M platform showed some syndicates were planning to import many tonnes of drugs into Australia, including one group plotting to smuggle three tonnes of cocaine – about half Australia’s annual consumption – into the country.

“The AFP is deeply concerned about how Australia’s illicit drug use impacts on national security, money laundering and the economy. We also hold grave fears about how illicit drug use is making our vulnerable communities, our suburbs and our roads less safe,’’ Mr Ryan said.

Hundreds of Australian shave been arrested already due to Operation Ironside.

Seven people in South Australia have already pleaded guilty to charges mainly relating to drug trafficking after being outed on AN0M.

NSW State Crime Commander, Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith, said law enforcement agencies Australia-wide continue to maintain and strengthen their partnerships to combat serious organised crime.

“The ongoing targeting of criminal groups identified through this operation has only been made possible by taking a collaborative, multi-agency approach,” Assistant Commissioner Smith said.

“We know that improved intelligence and information sharing among law enforcement partners has drastically enhanced our responses to organised crime, which we saw during Operation Ironside I.

“Since that time, police have been working hard to analyse and explore all those additional leads, specifically targeting trusted insiders and those who present the most significant threat to our communities,” Assistant Commissioner Smith said.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Crime Command Bob Hill said, “The information obtained during the course of Operation Ironside has allowed police to continue to actively target a number of serious and organised crime groups based within Victoria.”

“While we have already had a number of significant results including the arrest of over 50 people in Victoria, we recognised that the ongoing analysis of the intelligence would provide us with a unique opportunity to keep holding these criminals to account.

“Victoria Police, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to collaboratively do everything we can to dismantle these networks and ensure we prevent further harm to the Victorian community as a result of their actions.”

Queensland Police Service Acting Assistant Commissioner Roger Lowe said, “Operation Ironside has had a significant impact on dismantling the organised crime syndicates profiting from harm caused to our communities.

“The arrests and seizures have laid bare the role of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in international crime impacting Queensland.

“The outcomes of the operation are unprecedented and the Queensland Police will continue our strong approach, working closely with law enforcement partners”, Mr Lowe said.

Originally published as Phase 2 of AN0M bust about to begin: Who is next on the hit list