How AN0M legal challenge could benefit underworld’s feared boss Mark Buddle
The AFP are being challenged in courts across the country over the legality of the encrypted phone network AN0M that allegedly helped charge bikie Mark Buddle.
Police & Courts
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The legality of the encrypted phone network AN0M that allegedly helped police charge Sydney bikie Mark Buddle is being challenged in courts across Australia in moves that could have crucial evidence thrown out.
Australian Federal Police revealed on Wednesday that Buddle, 37, had been arrested over an alleged massive drug importation through evidence gathered by Operation Ironside, the international crime sting set up by the AFP and FBI.
It used an encrypted subscription-based messaging app that was covertly distributed as a trojan horse to monitor the communications of suspects and led to 380 arrests in Australia alone, according to the AFP.
The NSW Supreme Court has been told that the lawyers for as many as 30 people charged as a result of Operation Ironside would have a joint hearing as they all sought to challenge the same expert police witnesses over the use of the app.
Top silk Bret Walker SC has been retained by a consortium of accused challenging the warrants and argue the messages were illegally obtained.
“There is a growing opinion among a number of very senior defence barristers in this state, and in other states, that the authorisation obtained was not sufficient and the evidence may not be legally obtained,” solicitor Elie Rahme told the court earlier this year.
The “royal commission-style” hearing has been organised by the local court.
Legal challenges to the sting and to the validity of the warrants have also been launched in courts in Adelaide and Melbourne.
In South Australia, defence lawyers told the Supreme Court that a court could not be satisfied that what police said were decrypted messages actually matched what had been typed in.
In a breakthrough for the defence, the SA Supreme Court last month said the AFP would allow experts engaged by the defendants to inspect the source code for the AN0M handset and the “iBot” collection service “under controlled and secure conditions”.
The AFP has also been subpoenaed to produce all manuals, user and technical guides on how they used the app during Operation Ironside.
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