This messaging app led to arrest of 800 people; here is how they were caught after going online

A messaging app called Anom first tricked thousands across the globe and then caused them to be arrested.

FBI Criminal Investigative Division Assistant Director Calvin A. Shivers delivers a speech during a press conference, on June 8, 2021 in The Hague. - Police arrested 800 people in a huge global sting involving encrypted phones used by criminals that were secretly planted by law enforcement agencies, the EU police agency Europol said on June 8, 2021.  (AFP)

Over 800 people have been arrested across the globe as a part of a trans-national investigation. Europol said that as a part of Operation Trojan Shield, law-enforcement agencies seized over 8 tons of cocaine, 22 tons of cannabis and cannabis resin, 2 tons of synthetic drugs (amphetamine and methamphetamine), 6 tons of synthetic drugs precursors, 250 firearms, 55 luxury vehicles and over $48 million in various worldwide currencies and cryptocurrencies from more than 700 locations around the globe. The security agencies also nabbed over 800 suspects as a part of the operation.

The investigation involved the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Dutch National Police (Politie), and the Swedish Police Authority (Polisen), the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Europol and law-enforcement agencies from a total of 16 countries, which includes Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Europol in a press release said that as a part of Operation Trojan Shield, law-enforcement agencies seized over 8 tons of cocaine, 22 tons of cannabis and cannabis resin, 2 tons of synthetic drugs (amphetamine and methamphetamine), 6 tons of synthetic drugs precursors, 250 firearms, 55 luxury vehicles and over $48 million in various worldwide currencies and cryptocurrencies from more than 700 locations around the globe. The security agencies also nabbed over 800 suspects as a part of the operation.

Europol said that the FBI has been working with Australian Federal Police since 2019 to develop an encrypted device company called ANOM. Over time, this FBI-run app grew to service more than 12,000 encrypted devices to over 300 criminal syndicates operating in more than 100 countries, including Italian organised crime, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and international drug trafficking organisations.

With ANOM, security agencies accessed 27 million messages over a span of over 18 months wherein the app's criminal users discussed their criminal activities. This app not only gave the security agencies access to the plans of the criminals but it also gave them access to their whereabouts. Eventually, it led to the arrest of over 800 suspected criminals globally.

“Operation Trojan Shield and Europol Operation Greenlight not only reveal how transnational criminal organizations continue to exploit encrypted communication services for their own illicit gain, but also show the commitment of the law enforcement community to develop innovative strategies to counter this activity...As clearly shown in this operation, transnational organized crime is a global problem that requires a global solution, strong international partnerships and timely information sharing which are critical tools in this fight,” DEA Deputy Chief of Operations Matthew Donahue said on the occasion.

“Encrypted criminal communications platforms have traditionally been a tool to evade law enforcement and facilitate transnational organized crime. The FBI and our international partners continue to push the envelope and develop innovative ways to overcome these challenges and bring criminals to justice," said FBI's Assistant Director of Criminal Investigative Division Calvin A. Shivers.