Lawyers, accountants and real estate agents are in the sights of the state’s crime commissioner, who says the large-scale drug imports that dominate Sydney’s organised crime scene are impossible without these professionals.
So-called criminal enablers are becoming increasingly important to organised criminals who can no longer “keep [their profits] in suitcases under the bed”, says NSW Crime Commissioner Michael Barnes.
With it’s eye-watering profits, cocaine is among the drugs that dominate Sydney’s organised crime scene. Credit: Michael Howard
Large-scale drug imports, primarily of cocaine and methamphetamine, dominate the city’s burgeoning organised crime scene. Cocaine prices in Sydney are among the world’s highest and the rectification of a post-pandemic supply issue has led usage to rebound.
The eye-watering profits from these imports then need to be dealt with, which is where professional services come in, Barnes said in an interview after the Crime Commission’s annual report to parliament was tabled.
“You have to get more sophisticated in how you hide, invest or get it out of the country, which depends on people who operate in those industries,” he said.
Lawyers, financiers and accountants who agree to take the money into their system say it’s not their job to ask where the money came from and that they are there to provide legal or accountancy advice, he said.
Crime Commissioner Michael Barnes says several dozen offshore crime kingpins are on the radar of law enforcement.Credit: Louise Kennerley
“Real estate agents are putting money through their trust accounts, and logistics workers at the nation’s airports and seaports, including baggage handlers and shipping company employees, are involved in virtually every large-scale drug import,” he said.
The nation’s cocaine importation is centred around Sydney, Barnes said, with drugs arriving primarily via ports at Botany Bay, Newcastle and Port Kembla before being trucked elsewhere.
“[Sydney has a] big population and big drug usage, there is lots of disposable income,” he said. “The crooks are here, and even the ones overseas have networks here.”
Over the past few years, the Crime Commission and other agencies have aggressively targeted overseas kingpins allegedly selling drugs in NSW, with a “couple of dozen” the subject of ongoing investigation.
Alleged drug kingpin Bilal Haouchar was picked up in Lebanon, where he remains remanded despite the ongoing regional tensions.
“There are others overseas that will continue to cause grief in Australia who have the contacts and know-how,” Barnes said.
Kingpins based overseas – often in Dubai, Turkey or Lebanon – use varying models to wholesale drugs in Sydney.
“Sometimes they don’t trust the locals so send a shore crew who fly in and arrange the unloading of the product into Australia,” Barnes said. “They would never get involved in the retailing, but they would wholesale.
“It is distressing when you see how they operate. They don’t obey laws, and they don’t sue people if they don’t get paid, they kill them,” he added, citing last month’s shooting of Nadal Acherkouk at a Surry Hills service station as an example of the “incredibly dangerous” ways organised crime operates in Sydney.
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