Drug cartels and other organized crime groups are being infiltrated and assisted by hostile foreign governments to launder gross cash and sell illegal substances in Australia.
Key points:
- AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw Addresses Five-Eye Law Enforcement Group
- The group includes the FBI, the DEA, the United Kingdom Police, the New Zealand Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- He says “the long shadow of organized crime and state aggression” is fueling an increase in serious crime
The alarming assessment was made by the country’s top police officer at a meeting in Sydney of the leading figures in the fight against crime in the Five Eyes nations of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw, who currently chairs the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group (FLEG), says “the long shadow of organized crime and state aggression” is fueling an increase in serious crime.
“State actors and citizens of some nations are using our countries at the expense of our sovereignty and economies,” Commissioner Kershaw said Wednesday night at a meeting of visiting representatives of national and international agencies.
Speaking to leading figures from organizations such as the FBI, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the New Zealand Police and the UK National Crime Agency, Commissioner Kershaw confirmed that “federal crime in Australia is on the rise. “.
“The long shadow of organized crime and state aggression contributes to this increase,” he told his audience, which included new Attorney General Mark Dreyfus.
“For AFP, geopolitics and regional instability continue to influence our strategic priorities,” he said.
“Our operational focus remains the fight against terrorism, espionage and foreign interference; child exploitation; cybernetics; fraud and transnational serious organized crime, what we call transnational, serious and organized crime (TSOC).” .
The AFP commissioner also revealed that “a significant number of TSOC unions headed to Australia have moved abroad to escape or deceive law enforcement.”
“In some cases, this deception is made possible by the inaction of certain governments,” he said.
Commissioner Kershaw did not specify which foreign states were involved.
He described how money laundering organizations in an unspecified region were clearly visible in all Five Eyes countries.
“The TSOC crime model is facilitated by countries with unregulated chemical and financial markets.”
“We cannot ignore the fact that some countries are producing [drug] forerunners on an exciting scale “.
“Nor can we ignore the fact that some countries, I would say, are turning a blind eye to the product of the crime that is ravaging their economies.”