Former Newcastle man ran NSW drug empire using law enforcement's fake app
Ed Ryan, 36, pleaded guilty to directing a major drug operation using AN0M, the encrypted app that was actually a police trap.
A trip to Thailand led Ed Ryan to run a drug empire from NSW. Ryan met a Comancheros bikie there and stayed in touch.
Between 2019 and 2021 he used the AN0M app to direct syndicate members in Newcastle. Ryan did not know the app was a police trap created to catch organised crime figures worldwide.
Ryan pleaded guilty in March to trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and cannabis. He also pleaded guilty to importing cocaine into Sydney in May 2021.
His accountant, Lindsay Giles, also pleaded guilty. Giles had dealt with $2.47 million in crime money.
Ryan will be sentenced on November 27.
- 36
- Ryan's age
- 2019 to 2021
- Operation period
- $2.47 million
- Crime money handled by accountant Giles
- 2.75 kilograms
- Cocaine seized from Giles
Why it mattersThe case shows how international crime syndicates operate through encrypted apps and how law enforcement can penetrate them, leading to convictions of key players.
AustraliaA major Australian arm of an international drug operation has been dismantled, reducing the flow of hard drugs into NSW.
