The Snitch: Crims develop own app to prevent another An0m

Crims believe they have come up with the perfect solution to prevent another An0m style sting, while NSW police are in a legal fight over a high profile lawyer’s phone. Snitch also predicts the District Court chief judge replacement.

Organised crime figures still have PTSD over the An0m phone sting and are building their own encrypted texting apps.

Encrypted apps have long been the most useful tool in the criminal kit bag because it allowed crooks to organise murders, drug deals and other illegal enterprises via text message without the police being able to eavesdrop.

That was turned on its head in 2021, when it was revealed that one of the more widely used apps in criminal circles, An0m, was actually a trojan horse-style sting and the cops had been reading every message sent. It left the crooks in a state of paranoia wondering which other apps had been infiltrated or set up by the cops.

The solution was to go the DIY route and build their own.

Organised crime figures are building their own encrypted apps.

A police source tells us the Comanchero, and likely other criminal operations, have tech experts developing encrypted messaging apps for them.

The name of the app is apparently top secret. The theory being that if the cops don’t know what it’s called, or where the server is based, then they can go undetected.

We called one senior police officer who works in this space, to see if they were aware of the development. “It wouldn’t surprise me either way,” the officer said. “I haven’t heard of this but it would take about 10 minutes to find out about it. Do you know what it’s called?”

LAWYER’S PHONE FIGHT

Still on phones and NSW Police are in a legal fight over one owned by high profile Sydney lawyer Abdul Saddik.

The cops served a warrant on Mr Saddik last year to seize and examine several of his electronic devices as part of their investigation into the shooting of fellow lawyer Mahmoud Abbas. Police believe there are communications that may assist in the investigation into the shooting. But that old problem of legal professional privilege has seen Mr Saddik elect to resist the warrant in the NSW Supreme Court.

High profile Sydney lawyer Abdul Saddik. Picture: Daily Telegraph/ Monique Harmer

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Mr Saddik or that he was in any way involved in the shooting of Mr Abbas on his driveway in July 2023. Apparently the pair were communicating.

Mr Saddik wants the court to order that the devices and other material seized be returned without being examined by investigators.

QUIET RIOT

Snitch was on hand at North Sydney Train Station on Australia Day when the riot squad cops were called in to sort out some Nazis.

And we can confirm that the riot squaddies looked absolutely up for it.

Eventually their unique skill set was not called upon when the Nazis sulked back up the Pacific Hwy.

Riot Squad police were at the ready during the neo-Nazi white power rally. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

But we noted that the cops, who are brought in when heads need to be lawfully cracked, looked like thoroughbreds walked to the starting line only to be told the race was called off.

Particular mention goes to the officer who bore a striking resemblance to Chong Li – the antagonist to Jean Claude van Damme in Bloodsport.

CV

It might be time for barrister Trish McDonald SC to update her CV. The sizzle reel of blockbuster cases Ms McDonald lists on her website includes the “retrial” of journalist Steve Barrett over allegations he tried to extort money from the $105m tax fraud ring run by Adam Cranston.

Only problem is Ms McDonald fronted the NSW Supreme Court mid-last year and told the court the charges were going to be dropped.

DIZZO BIZZO

District Court insiders are predicting the replacement for soon-to-retire Chief Judge Derek Price will be a two-woman race.

One of the hot tips is Justice Dina Yehia who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2022 following a stint as a District Court judge, where she jailed Michael Ibrahim and the other members of his drug smuggling operation.

The other is Justice Sarah Huggett, who last hit the headlines when she presided over the case of Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka who was found not guilty of rape.

One sitting judge threw in ICAC commissioner John Hatzistergos as a wildcard.

But Snitch reckons a $700k pay packet and ICAC’s blowtorching powers might see Hatz elect to stay put.

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Originally published as The Snitch: Crims develop own app to prevent another An0m