Sydney's fired-up gangland a new era of 'disorganised crime' as police target powerful violence brokers
A drive-by shooting targeting a funeral is just another sign that Sydney's gangland scene has entered a new era of "disorganised crime", according to a senior police officer.
Sydney's organised crime figures used to rely on trusted individuals to carry out sophisticated and targeted attacks on rivals in the dead of night.
Some hits were motivated by unpaid debts and rip-offs, but the ultimate goal was to protect a syndicate's grip on one of the most lucrative drug markets in the world, Australia.
These days, a contract is put out for bidding on an open marketplace by a so-called violence broker, operating on the orders of an offshore entity, to which they have no allegiance.
'Driven by ego'
The lowest bid uncovered by detectives in recent months was for a murder contract, initially valued at $300,000, but eventually whittled down to a $3,000 job, taken on by a 15-year-old boy with no criminal history.
Assistant Commissioner Cook says Sydney's gangland violence has entered a new era of "disorganised crime". (ABC News: Adam Griffiths)
In an exclusive interview, Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook from NSW Police said the recent surge in shootings, kidnappings and firebombings was indicative of a significant shift unfolding in the organised crime landscape.
"Those changes mean we're moving into an era of disorganised crime," Assistant Commissioner Cook said.
"Generally, it's the incompetent ones or the ones that are driven by ego and bravado that end up progressing into violence.
"The more violence you see, the less organised the organised crime is."
Much of the chaos currently playing out on Sydney streets can be attributed to the ongoing feud between the Alameddine crime network and a group calling itself the "Coconut Cartel", which takes its name from a historic slur against Pasifika people.
This weekend, gunmen opened fire at a venue in Sydney's south-west that had been scheduled to hold a funeral service for slain organised crime boss Lorenzo Lemalu before it was moved at the last minute.
The head of the "Coconut Cartel" was shot dead by two gunmen outside a busy restaurant in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City last month.
Assistant Commissioner Cook believes breakaway groups are attempting to capitalise on cracks in a once-powerful organisation, which has been "significantly diminished" by police.
"The fact that we only talk about them and don't talk about all the other organised crime groups is probably more indicative of the level of violence attributed, it's not because they're successful," he said.
"They're a failed group and the people who are currently involved in vendettas against them are also fast becoming a failed group.
"By the time we [police] finish, neither will exist as an organised crime entity."
Assistant Commissioner Cook said other criminal organisations based in South-East Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Pacific were discreetly "making hay" from Australia's lucrative drug market, while these groups prioritised tit-for-tat violence.
'Brokers' capitalising on fuelling underworld war
Former detective and criminologist Vincent Hurley has been studying the emergence of a key figure in the crimes-for-service pipeline, which he's coined as the "broker".
Dr Hurley said an offshore underworld boss typically enlisted the help of a broker to find people willing to carry out attacks onshore.
The contracts are often posted on encrypted telecommunications platforms like Threema and are often broken up into individual tasks like stealing a car, obtaining a firearm or being a member of a so-called "kill crew".
Dr Hurley described the brokers as "powerful gatekeepers of violence" and "arbitrageurs of structural distance" between those paying for the crime and the executors.
Former police officer and criminologist Vince Hurley, who singled out "brokers" of underworld violence. (ABC News: Ethan Rix)
"The advantages are that the organised crime groups can say that they don't know anything about the actual execution of the crime, so it isolates and protects them," Dr Hurley said.
"But the problem also with the broker is that because they are a linchpin, they could well be a weak link between the executors and the principals or the organised crime syndicate."
After the alleged mistaken-identity kidnapping and murder of innocent grandfather Chris Baghsarian this year, police made several arrests, including one person they described as a "major player".
Police will allege 23-year-old Deklin Jake Donnelly recruited several people to abduct the relative of a senior organised crime figure who lived near the 85-year-old.
Detectives are investigating whether those who commissioned the kidnapping plot are based offshore.
Donnelly, being arrested by police, is alleged to have received orders from an unknown figure believed to be based offshore. (Supplied)
Dr Hurley has called for the introduction of harsher penalties for brokers found to have taken directions from an overseas entity, engaged in repeat offending, or recruited a first-time offender.
Assistant Commissioner Cook said that over the past 18 months, police had learnt more about the methodology of contract criminals and flagged the broker as a "crucial" target for stopping attacks before they happen.
"When we find these people, we often find a treasure trove of evidence," he said.
"We've stopped an enormous amount of kidnappings and shootings that just don't make the media, and the reason we've been successful at that is because we understand their methodology now."
With the rise of contract criminals, senior detectives have become increasingly concerned about the seemingly endless pool of young inexperienced criminals willing to offer their services.
"They want to demonstrate that they're gangsters," Assistant Commissioner Cook said.
"They're completely naïve, they're stupid and they're entering a life where they're either going to end up in jail or they're going to end up dead."
It's not a new warning.
Last year, gangland taskforce boss Jason Box warned teens committing crime for cash would find themselves in the sights of the hardened organised crime figures they were attacking.
Much of the violence, police believe, is being orchestrated by underworld fugitives who have fled Australia under unrelenting police pressure.
Assistant Commissioner Cook said police had not forgotten about the figures commissioning the violence in Sydney from their offshore sanctuaries.
"We're not forgetting, every person that we identify that we want, we will pursue and we will continue to pursue them no matter where they are in the world," he said.
"You're not safe from New South Wales Police. We might take a bit of time but we're still coming."