Hakan Ayik - dubbed the Facebook Gangster - was unwittingly a key part to a recent police operation that resulted in the arrests of hundreds of criminals
American and Australian governemnt forces worked together to arrest hundreds of cybercriminals allegedly involved with illegally reading encrypted messages. Officials monitored an encrypted app the criminals used to carry out "Operation Ironside."
Eight-hundred arrests, 8 tons of cocaine seized and alleged murders were thwarted in a global operation enabled by criminal gangs discussing their actions on an app secretly run by FBI.
Reuters Reuters
9 June, 2021, 9:05 pm
Australian Federal Police are seen during its Operation Ironside against organised crime in this undated handout photo released June 8, 2021. Australian Federal Police/Handout via REUTERS
CANBERRA/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -A global sting in which organised crime gangs were sold encrypted phones that law enforcement officials could monitor has led to more than 800 arrests and the confiscation of drugs, weapons, cash and luxury cars, officials said on Tuesday.
The operation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Australian and European police ensnared suspects in Australia, Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East involved in the narcotics trade, the officials said.
Over 800 individuals involved in organized crime gangs were arrested as part of a global sting operation in which the criminals were sold encrypted phones so law enforcement could monitor them, officials first revealed Tuesday.
More than eight tons of cocaine, 30 tons of drugs, and millions of dollars in cash were confiscated during the global raids after the FBI assisted with placing 12,000 devices into 300 criminal networks in more than 100 countries, according to a Department of Justice press release.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as police from Australia and Europe, caught suspects in Australia, Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East who were working in the narcotics trade.