A legal attaché for the FBI has attributed the success of the major global crime sting to the decades long relationship with the Australian Federal Police.

Anthony Russo said the relationship between the two law enforcement agencies was crucial to the operation.

“This is not the kind of case that can be worked with just any partner, this is the kind of case that can only be worked with the most mature law and enforcement partnerships,” he told Liam Bartlett.

“That is the kind of relationship the FBI has with the AFP.

“It’s the investment in those international networks and the relationships that are built over time that has certainly enabled these kinds of cases to happen, and to happen successfully. ”

Australian Federal Police and the FBI worked together on an encrypted messaging platform known as AN0M, which they got into the hands of underworld figures.

With the use of the app they were able to unearth drug importations and distribution, planned assaults, kidnappings, murder plots and extortion.

“One of the features of the app is that the messages disappeared, but they disappeared as far as the users were concerned, but law and enforcement has all of those message and they are all archived and organised.

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