Police arrested more than 800 people worldwide in a huge global sting involving encrypted phones that were secretly planted by the FBI, law enforcement agencies said Tuesday.
Cops in 16 countries were able to read the messages of underworld figures as they plotted drug deals, arms transfers and gangland hits on the compromised ANOM devices.
Mafia groups, Asian crime syndicates, motorcycle gangs and other criminal networks were all monitored using the spiked phones as part of "Operation Trojan Shield."
The sting, jointly conceived by Australia and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, prevented around 150 murders, foiled several large-scale narcotics shipments and led to seizures of 250 weapons and $48 million in currency, they added.
"The results are staggering," FBI Assistant Director Calvin Shivers told reporters at the headquarters of the EU's police agency Europol in The Netherlands.
Using a network of unaware distributors, the FBI placed thousands of the ANOM devices into the hands of over 300 criminal syndicates in over 100 countries, who believed their messages could never be seen by law enforcement.
Traffickers used them to haggle over prices, fashion ways to secretly ship their drugs, and launder their money.
One cocaine trafficker texted another photographs to prove he could ship the drug from Bogota using the French embassy's protected diplomatic pouch, two kilograms at a time.
In all, officials said, they raked in some 27 million messages on phones which were used "exclusively" by criminals.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday that the operation had "struck a heavy blow against organised crime — not just in this country, but one that will echo around organised crime around the world".
– 'Heavy blow' –
The operation took off in the past two years as police disrupted other encrypted phone networks used by criminals, Phantom Secure, EncroChat and SkyGlobal.
That created a void that ANOM filled.
An affadavit filed in San Diego, California court described how the FBI forced a person involved in Phantom Secure to produce a "next generation" encrypted messaging device that gave the FBI a master key into the encryption technology.
The devices also secretly copied any message to an FBI-controlled server after they were sent.
This enabled them to turn the tables on criminals whose use of encryption apps and devices have increasingly stymied criminal investigations.
"We were actually able to see photographs of hundreds of tonnes of cocaine that were concealed in shipments of fruit, we were able to see hundreds of kilos of cocaine that were concealed in canned goods," Shivers said.
The messages also exposed official corruption and other crimes.
While present across the globe, the heaviest use of the ANOM phones was in Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Australia and Serbia, according to the FBI.
Australia said more than 200 people had been charged already. Sweden arrested 155 people, including five in Spain.
Neighbouring Finland announced around 100 arrests, including a major seizure of machine guns and a 3D printing workshop turning out parts for firearms.
Germany detained 70 suspects, the Netherlands 49, and New Zealand 35 in the operation.
"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," Dutch police said in a statement.
US authorities indicted 17 foreign nationals, some known drug traffickers, who played key roles in distributing and popularizing the ANOM handsets to others who trusted their expertise.
Asked if any Americans would face charges related to Operation Trojan Shield, the US Justice Department said there were "ongoing and international investigations" and would not comment further.
– 'People came to us' –
According to unsealed court documents, the FBI launched Trojan Shield with a "beta test" of 50 ANOM devices distributed in Australia.
The devices were marketed as "designed by criminals for criminals" and sold for about $2,000 each, with a $1,300-$2,100 user fee every six months.
They had no email, call or GPS services and could only send text or photo messages to other ANOM phones.
Criminal "influencers" were recruited to push them, including an Australian fugitive drug boss on the run in Turkey.
"We didn't hand them out, people actually came to us seeking those devices," Shivers said.
But they gave police a huge amount of information on users: their identities, links to financial accounts, and their networks.
US officials said the ruse was revealed Tuesday because it was time to begin taking action against the criminals.
But the cover appeared to be blown in March 2021 when a blogger detailed ANOM security flaws and claimed it was a scam linked to Australia, the United States and other members of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network. The post was later deleted.
ANOM's website was unavailable Tuesday, with a message that the "domain has been seized."
Global gangsters caught in encrypted phone sting
Sydney (AFP) June 8, 2021 –
Thousands of global underworld figures used encrypted phones to coordinate drug deals, arms transfers and gangland hits, unaware law enforcement agencies planted the devices as part of a worldwide sting revealed Tuesday.
Over three years, "Operation Trojan Shield" helped distribute thousands of supposedly secure "hardened encrypted devices" to operatives within the mafia, Asian crime syndicates, drug cartels and outlaw motorcycle gangs as part of an elaborate FBI-led plot, according to Australian police.
The compromised "AN0M" devices reached suspected criminals in 90 countries, who unwittingly blind copied — or 'BBCed'– police on around 20 million messages.
The evidence prompted hundreds of arrests and foiled several large-scale drugs shipments, according to officials from several countries and unsealed US court documents.
In Australia alone, more than 200 people have been charged as part of the operation, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday had "struck a heavy blow against organised crime — not just in this country, but one that will echo around organised crime around the world".
The operation began when the FBI infiltrated a similar encrypted system called "Phantom Secure" and dismantled another called "Sky Global."
"The closure of those two encrypted communication platforms created a significant void in the encrypted communication market," said New Zealand police.
To fill the void, "the FBI operated its own encrypted device company, called 'AN0M'," the New Zealand police added.
According to unsealed court documents cited by US media outlet Vice, the FBI worked with insiders to develop and distribute AN0M devices through the Phantom Secure network of existing criminal customers, unloading 50 — mostly to Australia — as a "beta test."
The devices are said to have had no email, call or GPS services and could only message other AN0M phones.
They could only be bought on the black market — for around $2,000 — and required a code from an existing user to access.
"Criminals needed to know a criminal to get a device," the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.
Australian agencies helped get the phones in the hands of underworld "influencers" — including an Australian fugitive drug boss on the run in Turkey — in a bid to gain trust.
"The devices organically circulated and grew in popularity among criminals, who were confident of the legitimacy of the app because high-profile organised crime figures vouched for its integrity," Australian police said.
Eventually 11,800 devices were distributed across every continent except Antarctica, with most devices being used in Australia, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.
The cover appeared to be blown in March 2021 when a blogger detailed AN0M security flaws and claimed it was a scam linked to Australia, the United States and other members of the FiveEyes intelligence sharing network. The post was later deleted.
– 'Industrial scale' –
The Australian Federal Police said that as a result of the operation, a total of 224 people were now facing more than 500 charges in Australia alone, while six underground drug labs were shut down and firearms and Aus$45 million (US$35 million) in cash was seized.
"We allege they are members of outlaw motorcycle gangs, Australian mafia, Asian crime syndicates and serious and organised crime groups," federal police commissioner Reece Kershaw said.
"We allege they've been trafficking illicit drugs into Australia at an industrial scale."
New Zealand Police said it was the "world's most sophisticated law enforcement action against organised crime to date".
Detective superintendent Greg Williams said 35 people had been arrested across the country on 900 "serious drug dealing, money laundering and other conspiracy-type charges" and were due to appear in court Tuesday.
Police in New Zealand seized methamphetamine, firearms, and millions of dollars in cash and assets during the operation.
"Warrants are coming in and we expect a number of other arrests to be undertaken," Williams told reporters in Auckland.
More arrests were also expected to be announced around the world, Australian police said.
AN0M's website — which once offered "military grade" encryption services and devices with special features like "light and dark" display themes — was unavailable Tuesday, with a message from authorities that the "domain has been seized."
Over 250 arrests in Nordics in global crime sting
Stockholm (AFP) June 8, 2021 –
Some 250 people were arrested in Sweden and Finland in the global sting on organised crime using planted encrypted phones, authorities said Tuesday, with only Australia registering more arrests.
Out of a total of over 800 arrests across 16 countries, 155 arrests were tied to Swedish investigations and another 100 were arrested in Finland. Australia said it had charged more than 200 people.
"Yesterday, early in the morning, the Swedish police performed one of the most extensive strikes ever in intelligence-led police operations against violent crime and drug networks," Linda Staaf, head of intelligence at the Swedish police, told reporters.
On Monday, 70 people were arrested in Sweden and another five in Spain, in addition to another 80 Swedish arrests tied to the operation, Staaf told the press conference organised by Europol in The Hague.
"Many of them (were) persons with essential roles and heavy influence on the drug market. Those who instigate murders and violence, by shootings and explosions, right in the middle of the Swedish society," Staaf said.
Sweden has for years struggled to counter a rise in crime tied to criminal gangs, which has resulted in a spike of fatal shootings and bombings in an otherwise peaceful country.
Using phones planted by the US FBI, law enforcement officers were able to read the messages of global underworld figures in around 100 countries as they plotted drug deals, arms transfers and gangland hits on the compromised ANOM devices.
– Drugs, weapons, cash seized –
Of the total 12,000 ANOM users, Swedish police had access to about 1,600 accounts, and eventually honed in on around 600 people, according to the police.
Using this information, Swedish police had been able to "prevent more than 10 planned murders within Sweden", said Staaf.
Asked why there had been such a high number of arrests in Sweden, she said they had not yet done any analysis of "the high share of connections to Sweden.
"Many Swedish actors or actors with links to Sweden have been drawn to this particular platform," Staaf said in an emailed statement.
Finnish police meanwhile said in a statement Tuesday that they made almost 100 arrests and seized "more than 500 kilos of drugs, dozens of weapons and hundreds of thousands of euros in cash," during extensive raids carried out as part of the operation.
The raids included a major seizure of cannabis and machine guns in the capital region, as well as a workshop in the southern town of Tampere "where 3D printers were being used to manufacture firearms components", police said.
In Nordic neighbour Norway, there were a total of seven arrests.
Police in many countries had already been able to benefit from the June 2020 infiltration of the Encrochat network, which was also widely used by criminals.
This also lead to a wave of arrests, and Staaf described it as a "game changer in combatting serious violent crime."
