Operation Ironside: AN0M app leads to Taiwan arrests, $45m drugs seized

Two men have been busted in Taiwan in a major drug haul after the AFP’s trojan horse AN0M app allegedly caught the ringleader boasting of how he made more than 30 drug imports to Australia.

Two men accused of brazenly boasting about sending 30 shipments of meth into Australia have been snared in a global police operation led by the Australian Federal Police.

Chao-Yi Lin and Chic Chou were arrested in Taiwan, accused of masterminding huge hauls of drugs into Australia in 2020 and planning a $45 million load this year.

The Taiwanese men had been on the AFP’s radar for two years after it emerged Chou, 33, had allegedly boasted on the police trojan horse app AN0M about their success in getting the drugs to Australia.

“Intelligence indicates he and his syndicate were attempting to import quantities of up to 100 kilograms at a time,” Assistant Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said.

“We suspect they were operating long before we started monitoring them and were involved in multiple other drug trafficking plots targeting Australia.”

Police allege Chao-Yi Lin is the right-hand man of the operation. He was arrested in October.

Chou was arrested in July, and his “right hand man” Lin, 36, was arrested in October. Both are in custody in Taiwan, but the details can only be revealed today (Saturday)

Taiwanese police will allege Chou was already wanted on other drug offences when he was arrested.

Police estimate they found $45 million of drugs ...

... that were bound for Australia.

They will allege that when Chou was arrested in New Taipei City he was already wanted on a warrant for drug offences.

The AFP secretly launched Operation Greenhill earlier this year with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and the US Department of Homeland Security to crack the case.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal ACIC provided the intelligence this year into who was behind the dozens of imports in 2020.

They discovered in recent months the same syndicate using AN0M was planning to import 30kg of meth, valued at $45 million, into Western Australia hidden in 3D printers.

The drugs were eventually intercepted in the United States, and the hunt zeroed in on Chou and Lin.

“This organised crime group has caused significant harm to the Australian community for a number of years, as well as causing harm offshore,” Asst Comm Scanlan said.

“We allege this operation has taken out two senior members of a (transnational crime) syndicate and disrupted their gateway to import illicit commodities into Australia, which is a significant win for the community.

“We are thankful for the assistance provided by the AFP and ACIC on the case. We will continue to strengthen international law enforcement co-operation with our partners overseas to ensure the safety of our society.”

Despite their arrest in Taiwan the AFP is still investigating the men’s potential links to a series of unsolved drug importations in WA.

Chic Chou is alleged to be the head of the operation.

Some of the drugs intercepted in the US.

At the top of their list are any members of the syndicate who were helping the men from Australia.

“The operation has identified a number of links across Australia which are currently being investigated,” police said.

Law enforcement agencies in several other countries are also now working on the intelligence gained by the AFP to uncover its connections to other global operations.

Lin and Chou have been charged with attempting to import 30kg of meth from Taiwan into Australia and face life in jail if convicted.

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