More South African ties to global drug cartels emerge following the recent arrest of a trafficking 'influencer' in Turkey, in a crackdown linked to FBI 'hacked' devices.

A few years ago, thousands of criminals were using encrypted communication devices which they did not realise the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was secretly monitoring.

The devices were, in fact, products of an FBI front company called Anom, and, as Daily Maverick previously reported, drug traffickers using them were unaware that they were basically communicating about crime with cops instead of just themselves.

Among those accused of peddling the "hacked" devices was Hakan Ayik, also known as Joseph Hakan Ayik, a Turkish citizen who allegedly headed an outlaw motorcycle gang linked to Australia, where he is listed as a "most wanted" suspect for drug smuggling.

Anom devices spread around the world, South Africa included, which led to police making arrests in this country and searching for international suspects.

Ayik also reportedly had ties to South Africa - he was previously suspected of using planes to fly drugs out of the country.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2021: "Police intelligence and phone taps suggested Ayik had used his 'doors' to transport the drugs from South Africa via air freight to [the island country of] Tonga, where they were to be shipped to Australia."

In what may...