46 alleged offenders have been arrested, over half a tonne of illicit drugs intercepted, numerous weapons seized, more than $13 million of ill-gotten wealth in the form of cash, property, luxury cars and other luxury items, restrained and five murder plots disrupted in Victoria under the Australian Federal Police’s Operation Ironside.
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Operation Ironside South has charged individuals in Victoria who law enforcement allege are linked to Australian-based mafia, Middle Eastern Organised Crime figures, outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) and transnational serious organised criminals.
AFP investigators, tactical teams, forensics specialists, support staff and with the immense support of Victorian Police executed almost 70 warrants across the state on 1-8 June. During this rolling activity almost $1.2 million in cash, loaded firearms, drugs, mobile phones and luxury vehicles were seized.
More warrants are expected to be executed in the coming days in Victoria, the rest of Australia and offshore under a coordinated global response connected to Operation Ironside.
The AFP’s covert, three-year operation was enabled when the AFP developed world-leading capability to unscramble encrypted communications. The encrypted communications were decrypted from an app that was covertly run by the FBI.
In Victoria, Operation Ironside South-Apollo, a joint law enforcement operation led by Victoria Police with assistance from the AFP National Anti-Gangs Squad (NAGS), resulted in the mass disruption of the Comancheros OMCG with more than 20 arrests made, including several high-ranking Victorian members and associated Middle Eastern Crime figures.
While an alleged Australian-based organised criminal syndicate accused of conspiring to import more than 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine and cocaine into Victoria was taken out, with seven arrests including the accused ringleader of the onshore operation in IRONSIDE SOUTH-ANDIAMO.
And a high-priority criminal target accused of coordinating and masterminding separate largescale illicit drug import were also arrested as part of IRONSIDE SOUTH-DIDYMA.
Additionally, Operational Ironside intelligence led to the disruption and prevention of credible threats of violence by OMCGs across the state on at least five occasions.
AFP Southern Command Assistant Commissioner Bruce Giles said Operation Ironside had opened the door to an unprecedented level of collaboration between law enforcement both across the nation and around the globe. ■