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InAustralia,organised crime involves the activities of various groups of syndicates orcrime families and underworld activities includingdrug trafficking,contract killing,racketeering and other crimes.
The Carlton Crew, based inMelbourne,[1] is anItalian-Australian criminal organisation from Melbourne, Victoria. It was formed in the late 1970s and was named after the Melbourne suburb in which it is based. The organisation had a strong rivalry with the Honoured Society and the Calabrese Family, both of which were Calabrian 'Ndrangheta groups also based in Melbourne. The Carlton Crew had a strong role in the infamousMelbourne gangland killings.
The Honoured Society is a Calabrian'Ndrangheta group based inMelbourne.[2][3][4] In 1963, it was reportedly involved in the Victoria Market Murders. It was led by gangster Frank Benvenuto until his slaying in 2000. Tony Romeo, another high-ranking member, was shot in 2002. Ndrangheta operating in Australia include the Arena, Italiano, Muratore, Benvenuto and Condello clans.
The first Serbian mafiosi came toAustralia in the late '70s, organised in aYugoslav clan, their headquarters were some 15kafanas inSydney,Wollongong andMelbourne.[5] In the '80s the Serbian Mafia was reinforced with the arrival of Serbian immigrants. Milivoje Matović "Miša Kobra", arrived to Sydney in 1986 and became a known gambler who organised big games. His younger brother Braca owed money to the gang of Žorž Stanković, Žorž sent his son Batica for Miša Kobra whose friend Boža Cvetić threw down the street after he had pointed a gun at them. Batica was deported to Serbia and Braca was killed in the meantime. Žorž was killed in 1993 and his son Batica in 1996.[5] In 2005 interviews withAustralian Serbs, it was said some 20Zemun clan members operated in Australia at the time, double the number working prior toOperation Sablja.[5] Serbian boxerBožidar Cvetić who in 2002 was stabbed,[6] now worked as a bouncer in Australia said that Australian police had shown him pictures of some 150 Serbian criminals active in Australia.[5] In May 2007, Australian police saw recruitment to organised crimemotorcycle gangs from young Serbs.[7]
Godfather of an Albanian mafia family 'Daut Kadriovski' gained attention of Australian Authorities after creating a drug pipeline through Albanian and Croatian communities in Sydney and Brisbane.[8]
North Asian networks include theRussian mafia[9] andYakuza.[10]
In 2024, theOrganized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) andThe Age reported on connections betweenChinese organised crime figures and drug trafficking in Australia viaFiji.[11][12]
Outlaw motorcycle gangs are present in Australia, with international outlaw clubs like theBandidos,Hells Angels andGypsy Jokers as well as other groups that are localised and less widespread. The outlaw bikie scene in Australia is unique in the sense that it avoided the consolidation that occurred elsewhere.[13] In the United States, the four major biker gangs are the Hells Angels, the Outlaws, the Bandidos and Pagans.[13] Elsewhere, the major biker gangs are the local branches of American gangs. The Hells Angels dominate Canada while Europe is divided primarily between the Hells Angels and the Bandidos.[13] The Canadian journalists William Marsden andJulian Sher wrote: "Unlike in Europe or North America, neither the Hells Angels nor the Bandidos succeeded in entirely vanquishing the fiercely independent Australian bikie gangs".[14]
One of the major events in Australian motorcycle gang criminal history was what became known as theMilperra Massacre in 1984, where a fight between two gangs, theComancheros and theBandidos inMilperra in the South ofSydney, turned into a gun battle that claimed seven lives - six gang members and a civilian. Despite the shock caused by the Milperra Massacre, bikie gangs increased in number after 1984 due to the profits offered by selling methamphetamine.[13] A consolidation began in 1994 as the larger clubs eliminated the smaller clubs, which caused 35 murders between 1994-2000.[13] The number of clubs was reduced down from 178 in 1994 to 32 in 2000.[13]
While conflict between various clubs has been ever present, in 2008 the gang conflict escalated, with 13 shootings taking place in Sydney in the space of two weeks.[15] Gang violence has become high-profile to the point where various state governments have taken steps to change laws to focus on the problem, and police have set up groups to deal with the threat, including the Crime Gang Task Force in South Australia[16] Bikie gangs in South Australia at least, are involved indrugs,murder,extortion and other forms ofintimidation andviolence. Bikie gangs inSouth Australia have diversified their activities into both legal and illegal commercial business enterprises.[16] InWestern Australia they are involved in the drug trade[17] Laws to deal with Bikie gangs have been introduced intoNorthern Territory,South Australia, and are presently being looked at inNSW andQueensland.[18][19][20] In early 2009,Comanchero Motorcycle Club andHells Angels were also believed to be involved in a clash atSydney Airport. One man was beaten to death in plain view of witnesses at the airport, and police estimated as many as 15 men were involved in the violence. Police documents detail the brawl as a result of a Comanchero gang member and a Hells Angels biker being on the same flight fromMelbourne.[21] Four suspects were arrested as a result of the altercation. Including two murders in the capital city, 4 people were killed in the space of a week inCanberra and inSydney.[22] As a result of heightening violence, New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees announced the state police anti-gang squad would be boosted to 125 members from 50.[23]
Clubs in Australia include:
In terms of Chinese gang activity, highly organised crime syndicates in Sydney have looked to Chinese youths on student visas for their recruitment drives.[28] Multimillion-dollar prostitution rackets have been operating in Melbourne for several years, one of the largest by Mulgrave woman Xue Di Yan.[29]
In Australia, the major importer of illicit drugs in recent decades has been 'The Company', according to police. This is a conglomerate run by triad bosses which focuses particularly on methamphetamine and cocaine. It has laundered money through junkets for high-stakes gamblers who visitCrown Casinos in Australia and Macau.[30]
Gangs include:Triad;Spider Boys;[31]Sing Wah;[28]Yee Tong,[28][32]
Operation Illipango, an Australian Crime Commission inquiry, investigated alleged heroin shipments fromCambodia to Australia concealed in loads of timber. Cambodian businessmanHun To, nephew of then-prime ministerHun Sen, was named in connection with the inquiry and denied involvement in trafficking and money laundering.[33][34]
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The now-defunctBogota Cartel of Colombia had operations in Australia.[35][36][37]
The Mexican drug cartelSinaloa Cartel has infiltrated Australia.[38][39]
Middle-Eastern gangs rose to prominence around 1995–1996 in Australia, most prominently in Sydney. By 2000, the middle Eastern gangs had gained ground in Sydney, conducting extortion against nightclubs,ram raids, and car theft. More recently, drive-by shootings have become more common, with tit for tat drive by shooting starting as early as 1998, and becoming more common in recent years.[40][41] including a drive by machine gun attack on a police station in Lakemba, Sydney.[42] In 2006, concerns over the lack of intelligence in the wake of revenge attacks, which included stabbings and assaults, by Middle Eastern youths following the Cronulla riots; led the NSW Police to set up a permanent Middle-Eastern Organised Crime squad similar in vein to the existing Asian Crime Squad.[43]
As of 2024, the ongoing feud between theAlameddine crime network and theBrothers for Life of the Hamzy family has led to at least 11 shooting deaths.[44][45]
In 2016, the Liberal Party began to campaign against what it identified as "South Sudanese gangs" inMelbourne, following riots at theMoomba Festival in the city. This campaign was criticised by local community leaders, and theAustralian Greens MPAdam Bandt said it was using "race to win votes and whip up hatred".[46]South Sudanese Australians commit around 1% of crime in Melbourne, which is higher than their share of the population (0.14%), but is not adjusted for the low average age of the South Sudanese-born population, which can account for their over-representation in the statistics.[46]
In 2018, then-Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull described the supposed presence of South Sudanese gangs in Melbourne as a "real concern", with then-Home Affairs MinisterPeter Dutton claiming that Melburnians were afraid to leave their homes at night due to gang-related violence. Then-Victorian PremierDaniel Andrews rejected Turnbull's comments.[47]
The debate on "African gangs" in Melbourne was a key part in theVictorian Liberal Party's campaign for the2018 state election under then-Opposition LeaderMatthew Guy.[48][49][50]
Criminologists and the police commissioners of Melbourne say that episodes of youth criminality occurring in Melbourne do not amount to "gang activity" or organised crime, according to the definition used by law enforcement.[51][52] The debate around so-called "African gangs" was highly racialised and resulted in many examples of racist discourse on social media, leading Anthony Kelly, executive officer of Melbourne's Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre, to describe it as a "racialised moral panic".[51] The aftermath of the panic caused black people in Melbourne to fear that they would be arrested simply for congregating in public spaces, with South Sudanese people reporting high levels of targeting by police.[52]
Examples ofhomicide include:Melbourne gangland killings;Sydney Airport bikie killing;[53][54]John Newman.
Australia has known acts of modern terrorism since the 1960s, while the federal parliament, since the 1970s, has enacted legislation seeking to specifically targetterrorism. In terms of the predictors of and motivations behind such activities, theories of social disorganisation and anomie describe the clear political and social focus. The Australian government's foreign affairs, defence and humanitarian policies are also pertinent to this analysis, justifying the application of cross-cultural conflict.
These include theSydney Hilton bombing andTurkish consulate bombing, as well as the activities of militant Islamic groups such asFaheem Khalid;[55][56][57][58] Mohammed Abderrahman (akaWillie Brigitte);[59][60]Joseph T. Thomas;[61][62][63] theSydney Five and2005 Sydney terrorism plot.;[64][65] the Benbrika Group in Melbourne (includingAbdul Nacer Benbrika); and theHolsworthy Barracks terror plot.[66][67][68][69]
An example ofarson is theWhiskey Au Go Go fire.
An example ofsexual assault is theSydney gang rapes.
Examples ofprotection rackets,extortion andcoercion includeAlphonse Gangitano.
Money laundering may be connected with legitimate operations, and has economic impacts.[70][71][72]
In relation tocounterfeiting, all State, Territory and Federal police are authorised under the Crimes (Currency) Act 1981[73] to seize and prosecute currency related matters, including domestic and foreign currencies.[74] Counterfeiting can range across films, music, games and other electronic appliances, software, and fashion.[75]
Tax Evasion may be connected with legitimate operations and has an economic impact.
In the 2007 Australian federal budget, the AFP was provided with additional funding of $8.3m over two years to strengthen its capability to pursue serious and complex IP crime, particularly where organised or transnational criminal elements are involved (AGD 2007).[76] AFACT has reported that links between organised crime and film piracy were first uncovered following a raid on Malaysia-linked pirates in Sydney in 2002. The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) referred to several cases involving pirates who were involved in other criminal activity such as prostitution and drugs possession. Status Investigations and Security Pty Ltd referred to a matter that indicated organised links between copyright offences and importation of prohibited weapons. Trademark Investigation Services (TMIS) argued that 'Recent Police cases suggest such links'. They pointed out that 'To examine high quality goods and packaging it is obvious that a single person could not set up the productions, packaging, export, import, wholesale, etc. alone. There is a network or chain where each party along the way is a part of the ongoing conspiracy to manufacture, package and sell the goods for profits they could not otherwise make from those goods if they were plain, unbranded goods.'[77]
The most common form of cyberwarfare perpetrated by online criminal organisations is theDenial-of-service attack. Hacking, denial of service, access to and leaking of government (e.g. military) documentation have all been highlighted as key concerns for Australia.[78][79][80][81]
Criminal organisations may generate significant income through the manufacture and trafficking of illicit drugs and their precursor chemicals. Increased involvement has resulted in larger and more sophisticated clandestine laboratories being detected in Australia. In 2008–09, a record 449 clandestine laboratories were detected in Australia (a 26 per cent increase from 2007–08).67.7 per cent of clandestine laboratories continue to be detected in residential locations. Over two tonnes of precursor chemicals for the production of meth/amphetamines were detected at the Australian border in 2008–09, nearly double the weight detected in 2007–08. In 2008–09, clandestine laboratory detections increased across most jurisdictions, the largest occurring in Western Australia, which increased from 30 laboratories in 2007–08 to 78 in 2008–09, an increase of 160 per cent.[82][83] In the context of the Australian Illicit Drug Report, a clandestine laboratory is any concealed place where chemicals are used to produce illicit drugs.[84] Such laboratories range from crude, makeshift operations using simple processes to highly sophisticated operations using technically advanced facilities. They can be located virtually anywhere—in private residences, motel and hotel rooms, apartments, horse trailers, houseboats, boats, vehicles, buses, trucks, campgrounds and commercial establishments—and are usually very portable. Some clandestine laboratories use very simple processes such as extractingcannabis oil from plants using solvents; others use complex processes involving a number of chemicals and a range of equipment to manufacture drugs such as methylamphetamine and ecstasy. Clan labs are usually discovered after they have exploded.
Mainly clan labs manufacture methylamphetamine but other drugs produced in Australia and reported on in connection with clandestine laboratories are ecstasy, methcathinone, cannabis oil, 'crack' cocaine, pethidine and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB, or fantasy). Because of the increase in the number of clandestine laboratories detected in Australia, it was determined that there was a need for better exchange of information between the various jurisdictions. As a result, in August 1997 the first Chemical Diversion Conference was held at the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence; among other things, a categorisation of the various types of clandestine laboratories was developed. Initially there were three categories but a fourth has since been added. The categories are as follows:
Clan lab activity may include but are not limited to strong unusual odours, traffic at extremely late hours, covered windows and reinforced doors, exhaust fans and pipes on windows, high security measures such as bars on windows and an accumulation of chemical containers and waste. On 13 April 2011 the Minister for Home Affairs and Justice launched the Clandestine Drug Laboratory Remediation Guidelines. These Guidelines provide a framework for regulatory authorities and environmental specialists to investigate and remediate sites that may have been contaminated due to being used as clandestine drug laboratories.[85] Clan labs produce substances that are toxic, corrosive, explosive and carcinogenic. They can pose a significant threat to the health and safety of officers, the general public and the environment and hazards include:
The Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan's son was involved in a clan lab explosion in March were a total of 5 people were injured. On 2 June a Gosnells house explodes, resulting in one man in hospital with severe burns. In 2010, 133 clan labs were dismantled. Of the clan labs discovered in 2010, 26 were in the cities of Armadale and Gosnells and the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. In Western Australia, Gosnells has proved to be the hotspot for drug manufacture, with six clan labs uncovered by police. Five labs were shut down in Armadale. Almost all drug labs were found to manufacture methylamphetamine. The suburbs of Kelmscott, Huntingdale, Bedfordale and Southern River harboured two clan labs each until these were uncovered and shut down by officers.Clan labs have also been detected in Camillo, Maddington, Thornlie, Mundijong, Byford, Brookdale and Karrakup.
Organised crime groups, including outlaw motorcycle gangs are involved in the cultivation and distribution of cannabis within Australia. According to the Australian Crime Commission, there has been a noticeable increase in the involvement of Vietnamese crime groups in recent years."[90]
Sex trafficking involves Asian syndicates and European syndicates. It places burdens on the Australian health system.
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Australia's approach to criminalising money laundering differs from that of many other countries. Division 400 of theCriminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) (the Criminal Code) contains the principal criminal offences of money laundering in Australia. Division 400 was inserted into the Criminal Code by theProceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) in January 2003. There are currently[when?] 19 different offences of money laundering available under the Criminal Code, and these can be classified into two types: those linked to the proceeds of crime (funds generated by an illegal activity) and those linked to the instruments of crime (funds used to conduct an illegal activity). Possessing the proceeds or instruments of crime is a single offence under the Criminal Code. Persons receiving, possessing, concealing, importing into Australia, exporting from Australia, or disposing of the proceeds of crime may be guilty of this offence. Possessing the proceeds of crime attracts a maximum custodial sentence of two years.[citation needed]
The remaining 18 offences of money laundering are those of dealing with the proceeds or instruments of crime. 'Dealing with' the proceeds of crime includes all the actions considered as possession of the proceeds of crime as well as engaging in banking transactions using the illicit funds. These 18 offences are distinguished by the value of the property involved and the intent of the offender. The punishments' severity increases with the value and with the offender's knowledge of the source of the funds. Offences are classified under The Criminal Code according to the value of the funds involved. These are divided into bands of $1,000,000 or more; $100,000 to $999,999; $50,000 to $99,999; $10,000 to $49,999; $1,000 to $9,999; and funds of any value.[96]
Section 24A states that: (1) A person who has possession of: (a) a precursor, or (b) a drug manufacture apparatus, intended by the person for use in the manufacture or production, by that person or another person, of a prohibited drug is guilty of an offence. A common example of this offence includes being in possession of the chemicals and ingredients required to manufacture a drug.
Offences including possession of precursors and certain apparatus for manufacture or production of prohibited drugs fall under Part 2, Division 2 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW). This means that these offences are considered indictable offences, and are heard in the District or Supreme Court. Defences to this offence include but are not limited to duress and necessity. Also, those licensed or authorised under thePoisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 or somebody given authority by the Director General of the Department of Health are exempt from liability. Section 35A of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) outlines a further defence: it is legal to possess or manufacture a prohibited substance if the substance is contained in a product where the substance cannot be readily extracted, or in a product not for human consumption, or if the substance is possessed for the purpose of its disposal as waste or its destruction. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine of $220,000, 10 years imprisonment or both.
Criminal Organisations Control Act 2012 (Vic)
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the 'Palermo Convention') including theProtocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children andProtocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air - 2000 (UN)
Organized Crime Control Act - 1970 (US)
Title 21 of the United States Code - 1970 (US) Ch. 12 Sub.1 and2, particularly§ 848. Continuing criminal enterpriseSeeContinuing Criminal Enterprise
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (the 'RICO Act') - 1970 (US)
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 - (UK)
Criminal Code (Canada), RSC 1985, c C-46.
The topic has been widely covered in books and the news media and has also been the subject of several major Australian films and TV drama series including theABC-TV seriesPhoenix,Janus andBlue Murder and, more recently, the popular Nine Network miniseriesUnderbelly.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)miller gary 1997 drugs and the law bogota.
Professor Wood, of Melbourne University, told Fact Check: "The South Sudanese population in Victoria is very young, with 42 per cent under the age of 25 compared to a third of the Australian general population."