Risky undercover work key in ANOM police coup

In a global sting on organised crime, law enforcement officers were able to read the messages of global underworld figures as they plotted drug deals, arms transfers and gangland hits on the compromised ANOM devices. —AFP

In bamboozling criminal networks into embracing a bogus encrypted messaging app, police relied on cutting-edge tech to outflank gangsters in the sting that has become known as ANOM.

In the operation some 12,000 phones were turned into listening devices, resulting in stunning success with more than 800 arrests worldwide so far.