Operation Ironside: Australian Federal Police/FBI Seize 3.7 Tons of Drugs, $45 Million and Arrest 224 People

"Socalj for Borderland Beat"

More than 100 organized crime members have been arrested in Australia as part of the operation, initiated after the United States’ FBI decrypted “Anom,” an online communications platform used by gang figures. Photo: 7NEWS

An international law enforcement operation against organized criminal activity has resulted in mass arrests and struck what the Australian prime minister describes as a “heavy blow” against crime gangs. More than 100 organized crime members have been arrested in Australia as part of the operation, initiated after the United States’ FBI decrypted ANØM, an online communications platform used by gang figures.

“The AFP also acted on 20 threats to kill, potentially saving the lives of a significant number of innocent bystanders, with intelligence referred to state police agencies which took immediate action,” the AFP said in a statement on Tuesday.

It added that more arrests are expected both domestically and overseas, with Australia likely to seek extradition of a number of alleged criminals from overseas. Offenders are linked to the Australian-based Italian mafia, outlaw motorcycle gangs, Asian crime syndicates, and Albanian organized crime figures.

Inside Special Operation Ironside

AFP-led Operation Ironside has led to the arrest of 224 offenders on 526 charges in every mainland Australian state. It had seized 3.7 tonnes of drugs, 104 weapons, and almost $45 million in cash as part of the operation since 2018. Photo: 9News

After working together to take down encrypted platform provider Phantom Secure as part of Operation Safe Cracking, the AFP and FBI worked together to fill the vacuum. The agencies targeted a dedicated encrypted communications platform called ANØM, which had been used exclusively by organized crime.

“The FBI had access to a new app, named ANØM, and began running it without the knowledge of the criminal underworld,” the AFP said on Tuesday. “The AFP provided the highly skilled technical staff, and capability to decrypt and read encrypted communications in real-time, giving law enforcement an edge it had never had before.”

The ANØM app would be installed on mobile phones bought on the black market that was only able to send messages to other devices that had the organized crime app and stripped of other capabilities. As high-profile criminals vouched for the app’s integrity, the popularity of the rigged devices increased.

“These criminal influencers put the AFP in the back pocket of hundreds of alleged offenders,” the AFP said. “Essentially, they have handcuffed each other by endorsing and trusting ANØM and openly communicating on it – not knowing we were watching the entire time.”

In the past days, ANØM’s social media accounts were deleted and sections and functionalities on its website began disappearing. Photo: 7News

ANØM’s website used to claim the service used “military-grade” encryption and that messages and files sent within the app were “hardened” against surveillance. “Deleted data cannot be recovered through forensic examination,” the site said of its claim to “sanitize” a device that had been seized by authorities.

FBI representative Anthony Russo said the operation was an example of how global cooperation between police forces could smash organized crime. "The criminals should be on notice that law enforcement and partnerships all over the world are resolute in their dedication to collaboration and to continue to evolve our capabilities," Mr. Russo said.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said the expansion of strike forces had been carried out in anticipation of what would follow Ironside. "There will be reprisals, there will be debts owed, there will be conflict, there will be somebody trying to step up," he said.

More than 4000 members from the AFP and state and territory police were involved in the execution of hundreds of warrants on June 7, 2021, three years after Operation Ironside covertly began. Photo: 9News

Since Sunday, with 1000 officers in the field, NSW Police carried out 33 search warrants across the state and arrested 35 people. About $10 million in cash has been seized in the past week and a half, including $7 million from a floor safe in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville. There were also 27 high-end firearms seized, including a .50 caliber "military-grade" sniper rifle from the regional town of Mudgee.

Across Victoria, hundreds of officers carried out 37 search warrants and conducted 32 arrests.
Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said he was confident the data collected by Operation Ironside could help solve unsolved homicides. He said many of the arrests had targeted people associated with the Comancheros outlaw motorcycle gang, with nine patched members in cuffs, including the group's Sergeant-at-Arms.

New Zealand authorities have also arrested 35 people for alleged drug dealing and money laundering, seizing some $NZ3.7 million ($A3.4 million) in assets.

Sources: 

7News

9news