How Aussie criminal gangs are using an app to organise underworld hits in echo of Hollywood blockbuster movie

Criminal gangs are organising underworld hits including firebombings, murders and drive-bys via a secret underworld app similar to one used in the John Wick movies. 

The app, which went online in recent months, has been referred to as an Airtasker for criminals - with members advertising a 'job' which is then picked up by a contractor.

Designed by the underworld's equivalent of 'management', the app has a striking similarity to the one used in the popular Hollywood blockbuster John Wick starring Keanu Reeves. 

In John Wick, 'hits' are advertised digitally to a network of assassins and payment is made to the successful hitman. 

The new app was created to allow a select group of members to commission and pay for violent crimes anonymously, an Australian underworld source told The Age. 

The source said the system was designed by the equivalent of 'management' in the underworld and allows members to use an encrypted platform outside of Australia.

The app's name remains a secret, with prospective app users needing a verification by an existing member before their access is granted. 

New members are assigned a code name by the app's administrators which keeps their identity a secret and preserves the anonymity of the app and its users.  

Jobs can be advertised by any member but are usually commissioned by high-ranking officials in organised crime. 

The jobs - which include firebombings, robberies, murders, shootings, assaults, armed robberies, drive-bys, supply of weapons and getaway cars - are accepted by other senior players in charge of running gangs and crews. 

Specific details of a target or timing is not shared until the job has been accepted by a contractor. 

Once accepted, the criminal boss who posted the job and the contactor who accepted it move to a private encrypted chat platform where they discuss details and negotiate payment. 

The source explained once terms have been discussed, the contractor assigns the 'mission' to someone in his crew or subcontracts it out to another criminal figure. 

The gangland boss then pays the contractor a secure payment method such as cryptocurrency and a fee for the app's operators is also included. 

App administrators are aware of the real identities of the members, however, they do not know details of the jobs posted due to the use of outside encrypted chats. 

Members are permanently banned if they violate the app's terms of service, which include failure to pay a contractor or complete a job. 

The source added Australian law enforcement knew of the app but were unsuccessful in their attempts to infiltrate it's secure encryption. 

The app's design also limited the data that could be used if law enforcement were able to obtain a working version of the app and a password - as a job disappears within one hour from when it is posted and members are protected by codenames.

The app also has an in-built self-destruct function that is activated if a code is not entered every 24 hours, the source told The Age.   

The NSW Crime Commission's annual report revealed criminal groups were using encrypted communications between 2022 and 2023 at an 'unprecedented rate'. 

'Organised violence is an increasingly professionalised industry, with a growing range of service providers available for hire,' the report said.

'Information available to the commission indicates that Australian organised crime groups have invested in the development of bespoke encrypted messaging applications for both their own in-house use and to sell to other syndicates.'