The Australian Crime Commission yesterday painted a disturbing picture of just how powerful organised crime gangs have become. It said Australians were largely unaware of organised crime's involvement in legitimate business activities. The nation's gigantic superannuation stockpile has even become a major target. The ACC said it was concerned about the association between criminals and potential terrorists. "Terrorists use crime to support their political objectives," the ACC said in its Organised Crime in Australia report, released yesterday. "In Australia, the relationships between criminals and terrorists have generally been short-term and limited to providing specific services, such as false identity documentation, non-traceable communications, and/or money laundering." But the ACC said it was unlikely crime gangs and terrorist groups would forge stronger links, because each wanted to avoid scrutiny.
The ACC report also revealed:
technology has given criminals unprecedented power to organise lucrative crimes across national and international borders.
Gangs of different ethnic backgrounds were putting aside rivalries to commit major crimes together. gangs were sending members to universities to acquire specialist skills.finance experts were being blackmailed or intimidated into committing crimes.
GANGS were gathering intelligence on police, business people and public servants in the hope of forcing them into corruption.
ACC chief executive Alastair Milroy said most Australians were unaware of the high level of organised crime involvement in industry and in the community in general. "(It) pervades all parts of society and the concerning part is that many in business and the community in general do not realise how vulnerable they are to it," Mr Milroy said. "Organised crime is diverse and flexible and encompasses a broad range of industries and activities, including drug trafficking, corruption, violence, fraud, money laundering, hi-tech/cyber crime and other financial sector crimes. "I urge the public and business community to be more aware, better informed, and to take an active role in reporting information on criminal intelligence on organised crime to either the ACC or their local policing service," he said. The ACC wouldn't reveal how many organised crime gangs were entrenched in Australia. But the elite crime body told the Herald Sun in 2004 it had identified 97 syndicates. The ACC said yesterday a growing number of syndicates used the services of professional facilitators and service providers such as migration agents, financial advisers, and accountants. "Their involvement may be as a result of coercion through blackmail and intimidation. "The use of professional facilitators allows crime groups to distance themselves from their criminal activity and avoid the attention of law enforcement agencies." - Herald Sun news