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There are suggestions a global sting will shake the psyche of organised crime.
Operation Trojan Shield, involving 16 countries, has resulted in the arrest of senior gang members in New Zealand, Australia and other countries.
More than 900 charges have been laid here against 35 people.
The operation employed tricking alleged criminals into communicating via an FBI encrypted app, called ANOM.
Herald senior reporter Jared Savage, the author of Gangland, told Kate Hawkesby those involved in organised crime would have seen encrypted communications as impossible to get into.
“Now it’s been shown that, there’s essentially been an 18-month, long-game trick played on them. I think it will really make people a bit paranoid, there will be people going to ground for a wee while.”
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