Australia PM: 'Heavy blow' against global crime

Authorities in Australia and New Zealand said Tuesday they've dealt a huge blow to organised crime after hundreds of criminals were tricked into using a messaging app that was being secretly run by the FBI.

Police said criminal gangs thought the encrypted app ANOM was safe from snooping when, in fact, for months authorities were monitoring millions of messages about drug smuggling, money laundering and even planned killings.

The app was part of a worldwide sting called operation Trojan Shield. It was led by the FBI and involved the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the EU's police agency Europol, and law enforcement agencies in over a dozen countries.

European and U.S. authorities planned their own announcements later Tuesday.

Authorities in Australia said the app was installed on stripped-back mobile phones and its popularity grew organically in criminal circles. Some high-profile underworld figures described as "criminal influencers," vouched for the app.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters it was a watershed moment that would keep the nation's communities safer.

"Today, the Australian government, as part of a global operation, has struck a a heavy blow against organised crime, not just in this country, but one that will echo around organised crime around the world," he said.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw told reporters in Sydney that police arrested 224 people and seized more than four tons of drugs and $35 million in an ongoing operation that dates back three years.

He said they had shut down six clandestine laboratories and stopped 21 death threats, including saving a family of five.

New Zealand police said they had arrested 35 people and seized drugs and assets worth millions of dollars.

Det. Superintendent Greg Williams, who leads a New Zealand police group fighting organised crime, said the sting was conceived in 2018 after the FBI took down a previous secure app favoured by criminals, Phantom Secure.

Williams said that left a void in the market that authorities helped fill with the ANOM app.

(Image Credit: AP)