GLOBAL STING BEGAN BY CREATING MESSAGE SERVICE FOR CROOKS

When the FBI dismantled an encrypted messaging service based in Canada in 2018, agents noticed users moving to other networks. Instead of following their tracks to rivals, investigators decided on a new tactic: creating their own service.

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ANOM, a secure-messaging service built by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, launched in October 2019 and solidified its following after authorities took down another rival. Popularity spread by word of mouth.

When ANOM was taken down, authorities had collected more than 27 million messages from about 12,000 devices in 45 languages — a vast body of evidence that fueled a global sting operation. Authorities revealed the operation known as Trojan Shield and announced that it had dealt an “unprecedented blow” to organized crime around the world.

“Each and every device, in this case, was used to further criminal activity,” said Suzanne Turner, the agent in charge of the FBI in San Diego, where the investigation began in 2016. Users were “upper-echelon, command-and-control” figures in more than 300 criminal organizations.

Unbeknown to criminals, authorities were copied on every message sent on the FBI devices, much like blind recipients of an email.

“The very devices that criminals use to hide their crimes were actually a beacon for law enforcement,” Randy Grossman, the acting U.S. attorney in San Diego, said at a news conference.

More than 800 suspects were arrested and more than 32 tons of drugs seized, including cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines and methamphetamines. Police also seized 250 guns, 55 luxury cars and more than $148 million in cash and cryptocurrencies. An indictment unsealed Tuesday in San Diego named 17 foreign distributors charged with racketeering conspiracy.