Massive Sweep in Australia: Operation Ironside Delivers Another Blow to Organized Crime
South Australia Police carried out a major weekend crackdown, arresting 55 individuals in the ongoing Operation Ironside, a long-running domestic arm of a global sting aimed at criminal networks using encrypted communications.
The operation follows a pivotal High Court of Australia ruling allowing intercepted messages from the secret AN0M messaging app to be used as court evidence. Leveraging this intelligence, authorities have now filed over 800 new charges, covering:
- Drug trafficking
- Firearms offenses
- Conspiracy
- Financial crimes, including money laundering
Crypto at the Center of Criminal Investigations
Digital currencies have remained a critical focus for investigators. Wallets and associated crypto accounts seized during Operation Ironside bring total confiscated assets to roughly A$58 million (US$37.9 million), according to 2024 estimates from the Australian Federal Police.
Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams highlighted the importance of the High Court ruling in enabling law enforcement to act decisively:
“The court’s decision paved the way for us to go to resolution today, allowing us to leverage the intelligence gathered from AN0M to pursue criminal networks.”
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AN0M: How an Encrypted App Fueled Criminal Operations
The AN0M app, central to the investigation, was preinstalled on modified phones stripped of cameras, GPS, or browsers — devices designed for covert use. These phones quickly became popular among criminals involved in drug, weapons, and money-laundering operations.
The FBI secretly controlled AN0M and held the master encryption keys. While encryption itself remained unbroken, messages were automatically copied to law-enforcement servers before being sent, giving authorities an unprecedented window into criminal activity, which they shared with the Australian Federal Police.
Cracking Crypto: AFP Accesses Millions in Illicit Funds
The operation also highlighted law enforcement’s growing capabilities in crypto forensics. A breakthrough came when a data scientist from the AFP’s Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce successfully unlocked a $6 million (AU$9 million) crypto wallet linked to suspects. AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett credited the analyst’s initiative for preventing a major seizure from slipping through the cracks.
Global Concern: Criminal Crypto Use Intensifies
Operation Ironside underscores a growing global challenge: criminals exploiting digital currencies and blockchain technology. Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre head, Burkhard Mühl, warned that crypto misuse is becoming increasingly sophisticated, placing heavy burdens on police forces across Europe and beyond.
Australians Still Skeptical About Crypto
Despite regulatory progress under the Albanese government, public trust in crypto remains low. Surveys indicate 60% of Australians distrust digital currencies, with 31% citing concerns over fraud. Analysts suggest operations like Ironside reinforce public perception that cryptocurrency can be linked to criminal activity, even as authorities demonstrate its potential to aid investigations.
🎯 Bottom Line
Operation Ironside has proven that encrypted apps and cryptocurrencies, while innovative, can be exploited by criminal networks — but law enforcement is evolving quickly to keep pace.
With 55 arrests, hundreds of new charges, and millions in crypto seized, Australia sends a stark warning:
Crime hides in the blockchain, but it cannot escape the law.
