Operation Trojan Shield: FBI launched a Death Blow to International Mafia

A real catastrophe befell international criminal organizations. The money seen in this photo, provided by New Zealand police, was seized during a police raid as part of Operation Trojan Shield after intelligence agencies defrauded hundreds of international criminal organizations using a messaging app that was secretly operated by the FBI. The criminals used the supposedly secure ANOM chat in planning their actions, copies of messages from which for 3 years were received by the FBI investigators, which itself "encrypted" the correspondence in this chat.

This operation, developed by the FBI, allowed police officers from 16 countries around the world to carry out arrests, inflicting an "unprecedented blow" on criminal gangs. During Operation Trojan Shield, more than 800 suspects were arrested and more than 32 tons of drugs - cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines and methamphetamines - were seized, as well as 250 firearms, 55 luxury cars and more than $ 148 million in cash and cryptocurrencies.

This operation was a prime example of what can be achieved when international law enforcement partners around the world work together to develop state-of-the-art tools to identify, suppress and dismantle transnational criminal organizations, "Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigations Division said at a press conference in The Hague. FBI Calvin Shivers.

According to Australian Federal Police Chief Jennifer Hirst, this was "a watershed moment in world law enforcement history".

Earlier, law enforcement officers have already uncovered and destroyed two encrypted online platforms EncroChat and Sky ECC, on which criminal gangs traded drugs and organized criminal attacks around the world.

This time, the FBI installed the ANOM application on modified mobile phones, which quickly gained popularity in the underworld due to its "security". In a year and a half, the FBI provided encrypted devices to more than 300 criminal groups operating in more than 100 countries. This allowed the police to look over the shoulder of criminals when they discussed murders, drug shipments, and other crimes. The collected and analyzed intelligence allowed law enforcement officers to prevent many killings, seize drugs and weapons, and arrest such a large number of criminals.

Everything goes to the fact that it will soon be impossible for criminals to communicate through electronic means.