At least three Illawarra men have been ensnared in a police sting for the ages - a complex, global operation that duped hundreds of the world's underworld figures, bikies and mafiosos into using a supposedly secure communication app that instead fed their alleged plans straight to federal agents.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The FBI-developed app, called ANoM, was left to propogate organically through the black market for three years as investigators sat back and harvested its secrets as part of Operation Ironside
Announcing the operation's triumphant outcomes on Monday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw painted a picture of the trove of evidence the encrypted communication platform had yielded, giving law enforcers "an edge we had never had before".
He told how criminal plans had been laid bare, giving insight into allegedly criminal minds that until now had remained inpenetrable.
"Essentially we have been in the back pocket of organised crime and operationalised a criminal take-down like we have never seen," Comm Kershaw said.
"All they talk about is drugs, violence, hits on each other, innocent people who are going to be murdered ... It would be like - 'I need a thousand kilos at this price' - very brazen. We haven't seen it done like that - no attempt to hide behind any sort of codified conversation. It was there to be seen, including, 'we'll have a speedboat to meet you there at this point, this is how we'll do it', and so on."
"They all turn on each other. The other thing we learned is that they actually do a lot of business behind each others' backs, including the presidents of various groups and organisations, for personal wealth. So there's going to be a lot of disruption there, and our state police colleagues are on alert for that because no doubt there's going to be some tension within the whole system about who owes what drug debt and so on."
Comm Kershaw said the app had resulted in about 100 arrests in Australia over the past two years, with more likely.
Ironside by numbers:
The operation has produced some staggering statistics, including:
- 224 alleged offenders charged with 525 offences
- 6 clandestine drug laboratories shut down
- 21 threats to kill averted, including a plot allegedly targeting a family of five
- 104 firearms and weapons seized
- $45 million in cash confiscated
- 1650 encrypted devices signed up
- Over 525 search warrants executed Australia-wide
In the Illawarra
Among the most recent arrests is that of alleged South Coast Comanchero MC sergeant-at-arms Emmanuel Vamvoukakis, who was charged with conspiring to import a marketable quantity of cocaine, proceeds of crime offences and directing a criminal organisation following a pre-dawn raid by AFP agents and local police at his West Wollongong home on Sunday.
Pictures released by the AFP show items seized from the Mount Keira Road home including Ducati and Harley Davidson motorbikes, Vamvoukakis' black Audi RS7, $10,000 cash and numerous Comanchero MC colours.
Also Sunday, agents swooped on the Horsley home of Luke Andreou, who has been charged with weapons and proceeds of crime offences. The 31-year-old was granted strict conditional bail in Wollongong Local Court on Monday, requiring him to abide by a 6pm curfew and surrender his passport, and for an acceptable person to forfeit $10,000 should he breach his bail.
Meantime Monday, AFP agents returned to the region to raid the O'Briens Road, Figtree home of Elias Elchaar. Elchaar appeared in a Sydney court on Monday and did not apply for bail. He faces charges of directing activities to aid a criminal organisation, and dealing in proceeds of crime worth more than $1 million.
A property at Shell Cove was also raided at the weekend. The Mercury understands no arrests were made.
What is ANoM?
The torrent of arrests is the result of the FBI creating an encrypted communications platform called ANoM, which criminals believed was authentic and secure, as the devices to run the app were sold through resellers, often on the black market.
Investigators then patiently waited as devices containing the ANoM app slowly and "organically" grew in number around the world.
All the while, police could tap into the "back-end" of the platform and remotely monitor the criminal messages without the users knowing.
The ANoM app was installed on mobile phones that were stripped of other capability. The mobile phones could not make calls or send emails and could only send messages to another device that had the organised crime app.
Criminals became confident of the legitimacy of the app because high-profile organised crime figures vouched for its integrity.
"Essentially, they handcuffed each other by endorsing and trusting ANoM and openly communicating on it, not knowing we were watching the entire time," Commissioner Kershaw said
Police believe drugs have been coming into the country using established covert criminal routes for three years because Australia is seen as one of the most profitable countries to sell illicit drugs.
- with AAP
Do you have a story or news tip to share? Email us on cos@illawarramercury.com.au
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.