Intelligence gained from a secret app planted on the mobile phones of organised criminals has revealed the Italian mafia is "pulling the strings" of bikie gangs responsible for recent violence in Australia.
The Australian Federal Police is investigating 51 Italian organised crime clans — including 14 from the 'Ndrangheta — as well as 5,000 members living across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
Investigators have accused them of working closely with Middle Eastern crime gangs, Asian triads and South American cartels to smuggle tonnes of illegal drugs into the country.
"They are pulling the strings of outlaw motorcycle gangs who are behind some of the most significant violence in our communities," AFP Assistant Commissioner Nigel Ryan said.
"They are responsible for 70 to 80 per cent of the world's cocaine and they are flooding Australia with illicit drugs."
Assistant Commissioner Ryan said millions of dollars in dirty money was being washed through the economy each day.
"They funnel their illegitimate wealth into their legitimate construction, agricultural and catering businesses," he said.
"This is really a warning to Italian organised crime that they are on our radar."
The AFP has managed to compile a family tree of the mafia from data obtained from Operation Ironside.
It was a three-year undercover sting in which authorities infiltrated the phones of organised crime figures through an encrypted app, called ANOM.
Criminals were convinced to use the messaging service through word of mouth in the underworld, believing it was secure and off the police radar.
Little did they know that the 25 million messages sent on the platform were being closely monitored by the AFP and FBI.
Since authorities revealed the truth about AN0M a year ago, 383 alleged Australian criminals have been charged with more than 2,340 offences.
Italian mafia bosses are now the next major target — with the AFP operation also involving US, Spanish, Brazilian and Italian authorities.
"Unfortunately they invested in the wrong technology when they invested in the ANOM app," Assistant Commissioner Ryan said.
"Unleashing this next phase will be long and challenging but the AFP is up to the challenge.
"If we don't cut off the head and tail of organised crime then we face living in a very different Australia."
