Australian police warn Hakan Ayik he's a marked man after sharing AN0M app with associates, needs to turn himself in

Police warn Australia's most-wanted crime target he's a marked man and needs to turn himself in after he unwittingly distributed an FBI trojan horse application to his associates.

Fugitive Hakan Ayik has been on the run overseas for years but is believed to be a major player in Australia's drug trade behind the scenes.

Australian officials say he introduced encrypted communication platforms to Australia to facilitate drug imports and evade detection.

One of those was an application called AN0M - secretly developed by the FBI and the Australian Federal Police.

After Ayik was given the device by undercover agents he recommended the app to his criminal associates.

The app was sold on the black market and people could only gain access if they were referred through an existing criminal user, or had a distributor who could vouch for them, News Corp reports.

But unbeknownst to those using the app, police could see messages sent via the app and were storing them on their own servers. They could also undistort voice messages sent with AN0M.

Police say by monitoring the messages they uncovered 21 murder plots, evidence of gun distribution and mass drug trafficking.

When police launched their raids they arrested more than 220 people across Australia, and seized 3.7 tonnes of drugs, 104 weapons and AU$45 million in cash.

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw warns Ayik is now a marked man and needs to turn himself into Australian authorities.

"Given the threat he faces, he's best off handing himself into us as soon as he can," he says.

"He was one of the coordinators of this particular device, so he's essentially set up his own colleagues."

Ayik is currently believed to be living in luxury in Turkey since he evaded an Interpol arrest warrant in 2010. 

An investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes earlier in June tracked him down and found him owning a hotel in Istanbul and other high-end properties. He had reportedly changed his name and had plastic surgery to disguise himself.

"His Interpol red notice remains live," their report warns.

"Whatever his name, and regardless of his glamorous new life, Australian police are still pressing to arrest and extradite the man once known as the Facebook gangster."