A warrant was executed in Buninyong on Monday as part of an international crackdown on organised crime overseen by Australian Federal Police and the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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The sleepy Ballarat suburb was one of more than 50 across the state to be subject to a warrant as part of Operation Ironside.
The warrants come after murder plots, weapon purchases and mass drug trafficking were openly discussed on encrypted online platform, 'ANoM'.
The surveillance of the platform has resulted in the arrest of more than 220 Australian organised crime figures since 2018.
Offenders are linked to the Australian-based Italian mafia, outlaw motorcycle gangs, Asian crime syndicates and Albanian organised crime figures.
The communications found on the platform revealed 21 murder plots, gun distribution activity and mass drug trafficking, according to the AFP.
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The AFP also said on Tuesday it had seized 3.7 tonnes of drugs, more than 100 weapons and almost $45 million in cash as part of the operation since 2018.
The global operation has prompted mass arrests across 18 countries and the AFP intends to extradite and charge numerous residents overseas.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw told reporters organised crime figures openly and unashamedly discussed their activities on the ANoM platform, unaware police were monitoring their discussions.
After precursor encryption platform Phantom Secure was shut down by authorities in 2018, the FBI commandeered and secretly managed ANoM, allowing it to organically grow in the criminal underworld.
The app - which required installation on mobile phones stripped of other capabilities - became increasingly popular among organised crime figures as it was spruiked by their colleagues, according to Mr Kershaw.
This snared the crime figures on ANoM in an ever-expanding net as the AFP took the lead on decrypting and reading their communications in real-time.
"We allege they've been trafficking illicit drugs into Australia at an industrial scale ... criminal gangs are targeting Australia because it is one of the most profitable countries in the world to sell drugs," Mr Kershaw said.
"Australian law enforcement has been arresting and charging alleged offenders and we have prevented tonnes of drugs from coming onshore.
"We've arrested the alleged kingmakers behind these crimes, prevented mass shootings in suburbs, frustrated organised crime by seizing ill-gotten wealth.
"We have been in the back pockets of organised crime."
Mr Kershaw said the mass shooting disrupted by police included organised crime activity with a machine gun at a suburban cafe.
He also revealed an unnamed outlaw motorcycle gang in Australia was making $20 million each month from drug peddling.
Mr Kershaw said more ANoM-related arrests are forthcoming but warned the platform was relatively small compared to others used by the underworld, which remain out of the reach of law enforcement.
- with AAP