Operation Ironside: Police uncover huge haul of drugs and weapons

These photos reveal how cops around the world have pounced on crime syndicates and uncovered a huge haul of drugs, weapons and cash.

Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and Serbia have been named as the heaviest users of the AN0M app – and it’s in those countries where drug dealers, contract killers and crime lords have the most to lose.

But the tentacles of crime syndicates spread far and wide and a series of raids and arrests have taken place around the world, proving nowhere is safe from Operation Trojan Shield, as the AFP’s Operation Ironside is known outside Australia.

Arrests are ongoing, but a staggering 800 have been made worldwide so far. Europol has not provided a country by country breakdown of arrests in Europe, but some individual countries have begun to confirm numbers and raids that began on Monday.

The raids themselves were initially unremarkable - it wasn’t until News Corp Australia broke the story about the encrypted devices with the AN0M app in fact being developed and monitored by the FBI and AFP - suddenly became clear.

A world map showing where mobile phones with the AN0M app being used.

In the Netherlands, the investigation helped Dutch police unravel 25 drug labs and make 49 arrests.

It wasn’t just drugs seized – eight guns and more than $2 million euros in cash were also discovered in dramatic nationwide raids.

A Dutch police statement said most of the 27 million AN0M messages obtained by the sting were in Dutch, German and Swedish.

A German police officer and his sniffing dog leave the yard of a villa following a police raid as part of Operation Trojan Shield in Leverkusen, Germany. Picture: Reuters

Europol said more than 700 raids were carried out worldwide.

“Criminals assumed that the service was safe and touted it among themselves as the platform you should use … Nothing could have been further from the truth,” the statement read.

Swedish police prevented a dozen planned killings and believe that they arrested several “leading actors in criminal networks,” according to a statement from Linda Staaf, the head of Sweden’s national criminal intelligence unit.

A shipment of cocaine from Costa Rica to Spain to be imported via shipping container concealed within hollowed out pineapples into the Port of Algeciras, Spain.

A bag of marijuana is displayed during a police raid as part of Operation Trojan in New Zealand.

Drug labs throughout Europe have been busted.

In Australia, 224 people were arrested including members of outlaw motorcycle gangs, mafia groups, Asian crime syndicates, and serious and organised crime groups. Photo: Supplied / Australian Federal Police

Sweden arrested 155 people, including five Swedish nationals who fled to Spain, after raids carried out by tactical police.

Law enforcement had been able to zero in on around 600 suspects, Ms Staaf added.

Finnish police said more than 100 people had been arrested and more than 500 kilograms of drugs seized, along with dozens of guns and cash worth hundreds of thousands of euros.

They also announced a major seizure in Helsinki of machine guns and a 3D printing workshop turning out parts for firearms.

German police moved swiftly to arrest 70 suspects and raided more than 150 locations.

The raids were focused on the western state of Hesse, and its capital city of Wiesbaden, with

apartments, warehouses and business premises all the focus of raids that began under the cover of darkness.

Dozens of drug labs have ben disrupted throughout Europe.

A German drug lab that was hit was one of the largest ever found in that country.

New Zealand Police Detective superintendent Greg Williams said 35 people had been arrested across the country.

Police there seized methamphetamine, firearms, and millions of dollars in cash and assets during the operation, in what Mr Williams called a “stunning piece of work” that would seriously impact the organised crime scene.

In the US, 17 foreigners were indicted with distributing thousands of encrypted communication devices to criminal syndicates, the FBI said.

Eight have so far been arrested, with the remainder on the run.

Luxury cars seized in Germany.

The US Justice Department said there were “ongoing and international investigations” and would not comment further when asked if any US citizens would face charges.

Europol revealed the true extent of the unprecedented investigation when the crime fighting agency laid bare the sheer volume of what they found in more than 700 raids.

Eight tonnes of cocaine and two tonnes of methamphetamine was seized, along with 250 firearms.

And to add insult to injury to underworld figures who love to flaunt bling, 55 luxury vehicles were also seized.

Europol also warned the impact on organised crime would be felt long after the verdicts were delivered in courts around the world.

A large amount of cash was seized in raids in New Zealand.

“Countless spin-off operations will be carried out in the weeks to come. Operation Trojan Shield/Greenlight will enable Europol to further enhance the intelligence picture on organised crime.

“This enhanced intelligence picture will support the continued effort in identifying operating high-value criminal targets on a global scale.”

Finding a new way to communicate is the least these criminals have to worry about.

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