More than 800 detainees in an international operation against drug trafficking

A “gigantic” global criminal operation, in which law enforcement secretly planted encrypted phones, arrested more than 800 people and saved more than 100 lives, The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Tuesday.

A total of 17 countries, led by the FBI, participated in “One of the largest and most sophisticated police operations to date in the fight against encrypted criminal activity”, explained the deputy director of Europol, Jean-Philipe Lecouffe, in The Hague.

Australian and New Zealand police also reported on Tuesday the arrest of more than 800 people in an international operation against criminal organizations dedicated to drug trafficking., murder and other crimes. Some 700 places and more than 8 tons of cocaine were requisitioned.

The joint operation, which took place in recent days, allowed officers to also seize two tons of synthetic drugs, 22 tons of cannabis, around 250 weapons, 55 luxury vehicles and $ 48 million in various currencies and cryptocurrenciesconfirmed the Europol agency.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw told reporters in Sydney that the suspected criminals are “are members of motorcycle gangs, the Australian mafia, Asian crime syndicates and serious and organized crime groups”.

The authorities will allege that they “smuggled illicit drugs into Australia on an industrial scale”.

The arrests announced on Tuesday came as part of the Ironside operative, which relied on the use of the encrypted application AN0M access encrypted communications used exclusively by organized crime.

Through this application, used by FBI members in secret, messages were reportedly viewed including murder plots, massive drug trafficking and weapons distribution.

In Australia, some 224 suspected criminals were arrested in 525 police searches across the country, as well as six clandestine laboratories have been closed and 21 death threats have been foiled to date, according to the police commissioner.

“We have arrested those responsible for these crimes. We have prevented shootings and foiled serious and organized crime by confiscating their ill-gotten wealth, ”said Kershaw, who recalled that Australia is an attractive illegal market for gangs due to the high price of drugs.

Thanks to this operation which began in 2018, To date, law enforcement has seized a total of 3.7 tonnes of drugs, 104 firearms and some $ 34.9 million in cash..

Australian police said announcements are expected of further arrests in Australia and around 20 countries as part of Operation Ironside.

“Today, The Australian government, as part of a global operation, has dealt a severe blow to organized crime, not only in this country but will have an echo around the worldOcean Nation Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

For their part, New Zealand police said in a statement that they had arrested 35 suspected criminals across the country, as well as seized money, drugs, vehicles, boats, and more, in connection with the operation, which she called “the world’s most sophisticated against organized crime.”

The FBI, in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police, “Strategically developed and secretly operated an encryption device company called ANOM” who served more than 12,000 of these devices from over 300 criminal groups operating in over 100 countriesEuropol confirmed.

With information from EFE and AFP

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