‘s criminal underworld has been rocked by rumours another secure messaging app used by bikies and gangsters may have been compromised by police.
Threema is an easily available Swiss-designed encrypted messaging app which runs on almost any device, with versions available for iPhones, Android phones and desktop and laptop computers.
Although intended for everyday use by anyone, the app has become a favourite of n gangsters due to its high security end-to-end encryption, with no messages saved on a central server.
Threema’s use by criminals sky-rocketed after hundreds of arrests worldwide when another messaging app, AN0M, was revealed to have been created and secretly run by cops.
But now the underworld is abuzz with rumours Swiss-based Threema has also now been hacked or somehow breached by detectives.
One man on the periphery of Sydney’s crime scene says he has been raided three times after he accidentally included his name and address in one Threema message.
‘s criminal underbelly has been rocked by fears Threema (pictured), another secure messaging app used by bikies and gangsters, may have been compromised by police
Threema’s use by criminals sky-rocketed after hundreds of arrests worldwide when another messaging app, AN0M, was revealed to have been created and run by cops
One man on the periphery of Sydney ‘s crime scene says his Sydney unit has been raided three times after he accidentally included his name and address in one Threema message
He sent a document to one contact on the app which included his personal details, and was then raided by officers from NSW Police’s Magnus and Raptor task forces.
Both of the elite operations are focused on organised crime, with access to all levels of intelligence in NSW, and work closely with the n Federal Police.
A few days later, he says he was also targeted by Taskforce Erebus which was set up to investigate Sydney’s spate of fatal shootings and associated organised crime.
‘There is no other way they could have traced me,’ the man told Daily Mail . ‘They have been harassing me endlessly ever since.
‘Cops have obviously infiltrated Threema. I do not call anyone or go anywhere. Threema has been my only way of communication since May.’
He added: ‘The person I sent the document to has never been raided or arrested by police so they could not have recovered it from his phone either.’
In the wake of the raids, the man is now subject to a firearms prohibition order, and his apartment block is trying to evict him over the repeated police activity.
It follows allegations a Sydney contract killing was organised in a series of messages over Threema, before the alleged attack was foiled by Raptor squad detectives.
Ali Sweid, 38, has been charged with conspiracy to murder after he allegedly revealed his plan for a gangland execution to an associate over the app.
‘I’m gonna empty the whole clip 16 in him … stomach first, he drops to the floor from the pain straight away like a body shock. Then I’ll empty it in his face,’ he allegedly messaged.
Court documents allege police found the Threema messages on the accused’s phone during a raid on his home on December 12, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Some online experts insist the app is only insecure if users let police or anyone else access it on their phone, or if they simply don’t delete messages after reading them.
But others insist career criminals would never willingly unlock secure messaging apps for investigators to read if they contained potentially incriminating messages.
The claims come after an undercover NSW Police operation was launched last year to investigate criminals using Signal, another encrypted messaging app, to buy drugs and weapons.
Sydney man John Martin Ferrer, 31, pleaded guilty to selling almost half a kilogram of meth after he was arrested in January during the undercover Signal operation.
It follows the dismantling of international drug cartels and organised crime figures using the AN0M app-based phones, created in a joint operation with the FBI and AFP.
The sting seeded the apparently high security messaging app with crime figures worldwide but allowed FBI agents and n detectives to track all messages.
The AN0M sting seeded the apparently high security messaging app with crime figures worldwide but allowed FBI agents and n detectives to track all messages (pictured)
police swooped to make 800 arrests in 16 countries worldwide in 2021, including alleged mafia bosses, drug syndicates and bikie gangsters
More than 220 people were arrested and millions recovered in alone in the massive swoop, but some arrests have been challenged in court over the legitimacy of the police sting
After three years of intelligence gathering, police swooped to make 800 arrests in 16 countries worldwide in 2021, including alleged mafia bosses, drug syndicates and bikie gangsters.
Included in the haul was former n Olympian Scott Miller who pleaded guilty to supplying 4kg of ice in a $2.2million deal after he used the AN0M app.
More than 220 people were arrested in alone in the massive swoop, but some arrests have been challenged in court over the legitimacy of the police sting.
NSW Police declined to comment on the claims about Threema being infiltrated for ‘operational reasons’.
Daily Mail has contacted Threema for comment.