Threema: How Australia’s underworld is quaking in fear that detectives have cracked another messaging app

Australia's criminal underworld has been rocked by rumors that another secure messaging app used by bikers and gangsters may have been compromised by police.

Threema is a readily available, Swiss-designed, encrypted messaging app that can run on almost any device, with versions available for iPhones, Android phones, and desktop and laptop computers.

Although intended for everyday use by everyone, the app has become a favorite of Australian gangsters due to its high-quality end-to-end encryption, which does not store messages on a central server.

The use of Threema by criminals skyrocketed following hundreds of arrests worldwide when it emerged that another messaging app, AN0M, had been created and secretly operated by police.

But now the underworld is abuzz with rumors that Swiss-based Threema has now also been hacked or somehow breached by investigators.

A man at the edge of a Sydney crime scene says he was robbed three times after accidentally putting his name and address in a Threema message.

Use of Threema by criminals skyrocketed after hundreds of arrests worldwide when another messaging app, AN0M, was found to be created and operated by police

A man at the edge of the Sydney crime scene says his Sydney unit was raided three times after he accidentally included his name and address in a Threema message

He sent a document to a contact on the app with his personal details, and was then ambushed by officers from the NSW Police Force's Magnus and Raptor Task Forces.

Both elite operations target organized crime, have access to all levels of intelligence in NSW, and work closely with the Australian Federal Police.

A few days later, he says he was also targeted by Taskforce Erebus, which was set up to investigate the spate of deadly shootings in Sydney and associated organized crime.

“There was no other way they could have traced me,” the man told Daily Mail Australia. 'They've been harassing me endlessly ever since.

'The police have clearly infiltrated Threema. I don't call anyone and I don't go anywhere. Threema has been my only means of communication since May.'

He added: 'The person I sent the document to was never raided or arrested by the police, so they couldn't have recovered it from his phone.'

In the aftermath of the raids, the man is now subject to a firearms ban, and his apartment building is attempting to evict him due to the repeated police activity.

It follows allegations that a contract killing was staged in Sydney in a series of messages via Threema, before the alleged attack was foiled by detectives from the Raptor team.

Ali Sweid, 38, has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder after allegedly revealing his plan for a gangland execution to an associate via the app.

'I'm going to empty the entire clip 16 into him… stomach first, he immediately falls to the ground in pain, like a body shock. Then I'll empty it in his face,” he allegedly emailed.

Court documents show that police found the Threema messages on the suspect's phone during a raid on his home on December 12. Daily telegram reported.

Some online experts argue that the app is only unsafe if users give police or someone else access to it on their phone, or if they simply don't delete messages after reading them.

But others argue that career criminals would never voluntarily unlock secure messaging apps that researchers could 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.

John Martin Ferrer, 31, from Sydney, pleaded guilty to selling almost half a kilo of meth after he was arrested during the undercover Signal operation in January.

It follows the dismantling of international drug cartels and organized crime figures using the AN0M app-based phones, created in a joint operation with the FBI and AFP.

The sting spread the apparently high-security crime-rate messaging app around the world, but allowed FBI agents and Australian investigators to monitor all messages.

The AN0M sting left the apparently high-security messaging app seeded with crime figures around the world, but allowed FBI agents and Australian investigators to monitor all messages (pictured)

Police made 800 arrests in 16 countries around the world in 2021, including alleged mafia bosses, drug syndicates and motorcycle gangsters

In Australia alone, more than 220 people were arrested and millions recovered in the massive attack, but some arrests have been challenged in court over the legitimacy of the police action.

After three years of intelligence gathering, police have made 800 arrests in 16 countries around the world in 2021, including alleged mafia bosses, drug syndicates and motorcycle gangsters.

Included in the haul was former Australian Olympian Scott Miller, who pleaded guilty to supplying 4kg of ice in a $2.2 million deal after using the AN0M app.

In Australia alone, more than 220 people were arrested in the massive attack, but some arrests have been challenged in court over the legitimacy of the police action.

NSW Police declined to comment on claims Threema was infiltrated for “operational reasons”.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Threema for comment.