Five Year Operational Summary 2012-2017

Criminal Investigations Division

Drug, Organised Crime and Money Laundering Investigations

The Crime Commission, in partnership with the NSW Police Force, Australian Federal Police and other agencies, has been involved in some of the largest and most complicated drug, organised crime and money laundering investigations ever seen in this country.

The investigations have involved massive drug and cash components including:

Seizures of nearly $21m cash, a total of 4 tonnes of drug including cocaine, MDMA, Ice and precursors, and over a hundred litres of precursor oil, the latter being the largest ever seizure of the oil in Australia;
Increasing transnational links to drug exporters in China, USA, Europe, South America and Iran;
An investigation uncovering records of $18m worth of cash deliveries by one person over 6 weeks;
One group imported and distributed 8.5 tonnes of drug through Sydney. This group paid $22m to fund one importation. It is estimated the syndicate benefited from $100m worth of drug transactions.
One group was responsible for importing an average of one tonne of cocaine per year over 4 years;
$400K worth of bribes paid to a corrupt customs officer;
A detainee in Villawood Detention Centre running a drug importation racket from within the Centre.

These investigations identified significant opportunities for criminal asset recovery proceeds including a single business operating in the Sydney north-western suburbs valued at $40m. Over 500 arrests have resulted from these police investigations supported by the Crime Commission.

Homicide Investigations

Over the last five years, the Crime Commission in partnership with the NSW Police Force Homicide Squad has been involved in murder investigations, including cases involving:

Outlaw Motorcycle Gang disputes;
Contract killings by hired assassins;
Drug importation, trafficking and distribution disputes and monetary grievances;
Disputes in organised crime gangs with a specific ethnicity or membership;
Clandestine business disagreements;
Cash in transit robbery;
Mass family killing;
Attacks on Crown witnesses ;
A 16 year old victim of a revenge killing;
Search for bodies of suspected murder victims.

Over a hundred arrests have resulted from police investigations over the last five years and the Crime Commission is currently involved in more than 30 long term murder investigations, most of which are organised crime related.

Counter Terrorism operations

The Crime Commission is a partner with the Australian Federal Police, NSW Police Force and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in the Joint Counter Terrorism Team. Analytical and technical services together with the Commission’s powers are regularly used to assist the prevention, investigation and prosecution of terrorism.

The Commission's involvement includes 10 operations which involved:

2 people planning an imminent attack targeting an international airline;
Islamic State support network in Sydney facilitating foreign fighter travellers and local attack planning, with 17 individuals charged to date;
Arrest of 2 men moments before they were to execute a random street attack;
Arrests of male and female couple intent on attacking a large shopping centre:
4 people charged following the Curtis Cheng murder, and 2 others charged in relation to terrorism financing;
Person charged with attack planning to coincide with a major calendar event,
Person charged with defence facility and police HQ attack planning;
2 juveniles charged with attack planning with edged weapons;
Persons charged with attempting to commit a foreign incursion offence.

Over a hundred arrests have resulted from these JCTT investigations.

Financial Investigations Division

At any one time the Crime Commission has proceedings pending under the Criminal Assets Recovery Act in the Supreme Court against more than 180 defendants. In the last five years the Financial Investigation Division (FID) disposed of proceedings against over 400 defendants with the total realisable value of orders obtained being $136m.In the year 2011/2012 the total realisable value of the orders was $14m. In 2016/2017 the amount was $30m. The five year average recovery has increased to $27m.The FID is playing an increasingly important role in the work of the Commission and assisting NSW Police Force criminal investigations for the purposes of identifying the assets of criminals prior to their arrest.

NSW Crime Commission powers

In order to assist the police investigations, during the last five years over 800 summonses have been issued for investigative hearings and more than 8,500 Notices to Produce information have been served.

Intelligence and Human Source Management

The Commission’s Intelligence and Human Source unit over the last five years has disseminated approximately 4,000 intelligence reports to other law enforcement agencies.