Two Canadians among multiple arrested in Sydney over massive illegal tobacco, drugs bust
A multi-agency taskforce has uncovered a huge illegal tobacco and drugs ring, seizing millions of cigarettes and more than 300kg of cocaine and liquid meth.
For almost two years the law enforcement agencies have been investigating a 42-year-old Sydney man they allege is the ringleader.
NSW Police, Australian Federal Police, Border Force and other agencies believe the group had been using "trusted insiders" at ports of entry into Australia to smuggle drugs.
The "MAST" — or Multi Agency Strike Team — in July 2024 intercepted 280kg of liquid methamphetamine coming from Vancouver, Canada.
The team kept an eye on the shipment but did not intervene, with the aim to track down alleged culprits.
By August 4, 2024, police said they observed two men attempting to cool and extract the liquid methamphetamine in Riverstone.
A 43-year-old man was arrested later that night at a fast-food restaurant in Londonderry, which police say led them to find a "methamphetamine cookbook".
The man was charged with several serious drug importation offences.
The same day, police said they arrested a 31-year-old man and charged him with participating in a criminal group.
The 42-year-old who police allege is a ringleader, they also accuse of being behind the July 2024 consignment.
He was allegedly using a freight forwarding company in Punchbowl to import the shipments into the country.
The taskforce continued to investigate the 42-year-old, who they accuse of continuing to use the freight company to import cigarettes from the United Arab Emirates.
Police will allege when they intercepted the shipments they located 20 million illegal cigarettes.
In May this year, police allege they established the same man was behind a plot to import 50kg of cocaine concealed in cement blocks from Panama.
Police will allege in court the ringleader enlisted the help of two men, who flew in from Canada, to retrieve the drugs from the cement blocks and sell it to organised crime networks in Sydney.
The culmination of their investigation came last Friday when they swarmed on a Wetherill Park property and arrested the 42-year-old ringleader, the two Canadians and another 42-year-old man.
They have all been charged with a raft of serious drug importation, proceeds of crime and criminal group offences and appeared at Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday.
All were refused bail and had their cases adjourned to be heard again at the Downing Centre on different dates across June and July.
It came as NSW Premier Chris Minns on Monday called for the federal government to reassess the tobacco excise to stop the lucrative black market funding organised crime.
Mr Minns again doubled down on his calls to the federal government during a press conference on Tuesday, telling reporters it was a policy that was "just not working".
"This is another element of federal policy we believe needs to change," Mr Minns said.
"This will be the only tax in the history of the world that has doubled and revenue has declined by 33 per cent.
"Where is all that money going … into the illegal tobacco sector."
Speaking to ABC Radio Sydney, former federal police officer Rohan Pike said the federal government's tobacco excise had created an opportunity for organised crime networks to undercut the legal trade.
Mr Pike helped set up Australian Border Force's illegal tobacco taskforce.
"Clearly the exponential rise in the excise has allowed criminal syndicates an opportunity to undercut that legal market and now that the cigarettes are about a third of the price its obviously attractive to consumers," he said.
"It's definitely something that should be considered … the rate needs to be reviewed.
"One of the problems they're facing now is the market is entrenched, people are used ot the illicit product."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Courier-Mail
an hour ago
- Courier-Mail
Satellite images show the extent of the damage after Ukraine's daring operation deep inside Russia
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. Satellite images analysed by experts have confirmed Ukraine's claim that it destroyed crucial elements of Vladimir Putin's air power during its surprise operation deep inside Russia earlier this week. The raid, codenamed Operation Spider's Web, took 18 months to plan and execute. Ukraine smuggled drones across the Russian border, hidden in trucks, which then drove to the sites of military bases. One penetrated as far as Siberia, more than 4000 kilometres away from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. At a co-ordinated moment, the trucks released their drones, which then attacked while being controlled remotely. Ukraine pulled off the extraordinary operation with near-total secrecy, and all its operatives successfully made it back across the border. Even the United States, whose intelligence and military aid have been vital throughout the war, was not warned beforehand. 'Planning, organisation, every detail was perfectly executed. It can be said with confidence that this was an absolutely unique operation,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said when it was over. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Picture:In the immediate aftermath of the operation, Ukraine's security forces claimed to have taken out about a third of Russia's strategic bombers, partially crippling Putin's capacity to launch long-distance missile strikes. Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, head of the Security Service, put the tally at 41 aircraft, encompassing both Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers. It turns out that was not even the full extent of the damage. According to American military correspondent David Axe (fitting name, no?), the Ukrainian attacks on Russian bases appear to have diminished Russia's already dwindling supply of A-50s – an expensive type of surveillance aircraft, equipped with a powerful radar, whose chief purpose is to co-ordinate operations involving fighter jets and bombers. When Putin first invaded Ukraine, in February of 2022, he reportedly had nine active A-50s. By February of this year, that had fallen to seven, or perhaps even fewer, as Ukraine claimed to have destroyed at least two of them. One of the air bases targeted in Operation Spider's Web, in Ivanovo Oblast, is known to have housed A-50 aircraft, as captured by satellite imagery last month. Another photographic image, taken after the attack, showed at least one of the craft damaged. An overview of the Ivanovo air base, which was among those targeted by Ukraine. Picture: Maxar Technologies/AFP Two undamaged A-50 aircraft, captured in satellite images, before the Ukrainian attacks last month. Picture: Maxar Technologies/AFP The reconnaissance planes are hard to replace, and the cost – hundreds of millions of dollars – is not the only problem. After the aforementioned pair were lost earlier this year, Ukraine said Russia was trying to replace their capability with drones, as a sort of stopgap measure. 'It's certainly plausible that Russians are scrambling drones to plug some of the gaps,' drone expert Steve Wright told Newsweek at the time. 'But it's certainly not a one-for-one replacement.' 'That is hard to replicate with drones which, even if equipped with radar, lack the size and power to provide comparable radar coverage,' agreed Frederik Mertens, an analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. Satellite images from commercial firms have granted a valuable window into Ukraine-Russia war since Putin's invasion began. That these latest images show smouldering wreckage deep within Russia, though, is a fact that demonstrates the astonishing success of Ukraine's operation. An image from AviVector, showing the damage at Olenya air base. Another example, from geospatial intelligence consultant Chris Biggers. Wreckage at Belaya air base. Picture: Maxar Technologies/AFP Defence analysis website The War Zone this week reiterated its previous assessment that 'Russia would not have to lose very many bombers, as well as A-50s, to' suffer a significant negative impact. 'Even taking one or two bombers out of operation will impact the Russian Aerospace Forces. The bomber triad has played a key role in launching the barrages of cruise missiles that have regularly struck targets across Ukraine,' the site noted. 'At the same time, these aircraft are an integral part of Russia's nuclear deterrent. This makes them a matter of great prestige, but also a critical element in Russia's ability to launch nuclear or conventional air strikes against targets outside of Ukraine. 'These aircraft are also regularly used for long-range patrols over Europe and Asia, also venturing as far as the coast of Alaska, and for irregular visits to strategic allies. 'Wiping out a significant portion of one prong of the nuclear triad – the most flexible part of it – has an impact on the credibility of Russia's overall deterrent.' Originally published as Satellite images show the extent of the damage after Ukraine's daring operation deep inside Russia
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
World Gold Council's latest short film shines spotlight on WA Goldfields
The World Gold Council's latest short film to premiere on Thursday focuses on activities in WA's Goldfields, with particular emphasis on an Indigenous company's partnership with a global mining giant. Gold: The Journey Continues — Australia demonstrates how the local gold industry, First Nations communities and businesses were collaborating to deepen Indigenous participation in WA's gold mining sector. The film is the third in a global series from the council that tell 'real stories of those who live and work in responsible gold mining operations', and follows the global success of Gold: A Journey, in 2023, starring British film star Idris Elba. Representatives from the World Gold Council, Minerals Council of Australia, and Gold Industry Group visited Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Wednesday ahead of the film's premiere at WA Museum Boola Bardip in Perth on Thursday night. The three groups are presenting the film in partnership. The gold council's chief strategy officer Terry Heymann said the film series aimed to highlight the social and community value being generated through 'responsible' gold mining, a sector more known for its economic contribution. 'Given Australia is the world's third-largest gold producer and home to what is widely regarded as the oldest Indigenous culture, we've long wanted to explore the wisdom, experiences and learnings embedded in Australia's gold mining sector,' he said. 'A sustainable gold mining industry is contingent on championing ways for Indigenous people to preserve their deep connections to land and nature while benefit as active participants. 'Exploring partnerships that are achieving this through courage, trust, patience and resilience to overcome what can be exciting but complex challenges has been an immensely insightful and rewarding experience.' Central to the film is mining services company Carey Group, which employs First Nations people and is anchored by its 30-year partnership with global gold mining group AngloGold Ashanti at the Sunrise Dam mine in the northern Goldfields. Carey Group founder and managing director Daniel Tucker has played a key role forging new pathways for Indigenous people, fusing traditional knowledge with a business mindset and skills. Rowena Leslie, co-founder of mining services firm Kai Rho Contracting, who is also featured in the film, was mentored by Mr Tucker. Similarly, Gohar Rind, owner of technology firm Yira Yarkiny Group, benefited from a Carey Group scholarship. AngloGold's contractual arrangements have been augmented with business coaching and mentoring. AngloGold vice-president investor relations, communication and ESG Andrea Maxey said the company was focused on supporting local economics and communities. 'Our purchasing and supply chain team works closely with our community team to ensure mechanisms that build trust (and) cultural awareness, (with) hands-on support built into contracts,' she said. Mr Tucker said Aboriginal-owned business participation in mining was evolving, with Carey Group starting 30 years ago with a blank canvas but a strong vision to work and thrive in industries 'that had long left us out'. 'Our breakthrough came in 1996 when AngloGold Ashanti — then Acacia Resources — saw more opportunity than risk in creating Australia's first Indigenous partnership with Carey Group,' he said. 'Fast forward to today, and our journey is inspiring First Nations people across Australia and in regions as far afield as Canada to consider similar models. 'We are proud and grateful to share our story in this documentary.' Mr Tucker said the role of Indigenous businesses in mining was still in its infancy. 'There is still so much opportunity for First Nations-owned businesses to grow, diversify and achieve major milestones into the future,' he said.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Alan Kohler on making housing a bad investment
Sam Hawley: Interest rates might be coming down, but house prices are, once again, heading in the other direction. Given there is a major problem with housing affordability, and there are so many people who can't even afford to enter the market, why on earth is that? Today, the ABC's finance expert, Alan Kohler, on how conditions are ripe for a housing price surge, just as they were back in the early 2000s. In other words, why history's repeating. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal Land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. Sam Hawley: Alan, interest rates are coming down and they could drop even further this year. So that should mean houses are more affordable for borrowers. But it's not that simple and you're going to explain to us why. Now, to do that, let's go back to the turn of the century. In 2001, the Reserve Bank was cutting rates just like it is now, wasn't it? Alan Kohler: Correct. Sam Hawley: What was going on back then? Alan Kohler: In 2001, the Reserve Bank cut interest rates six times that year. News report: Nervous anticipation for one of the Reserve Bank's most expected interest rate cuts, the sixth and last this year. Alan Kohler: And that was in response to the dot-com crash in the United States, which happened on basically in March of 2000. It continued for a while. The Nasdaq halved, more than halved. And there was a recession in the United States. The Reserve Bank was concerned that the Australian dollar would rise too much because of that, because obviously the US Federal Reserve was cutting interest rates in response to the recession. So the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates in precaution, even though there was no recession in Australia. The economy did slow a bit. There was a bit of a fall in the share market, but not anything like what happened in the US. Sam Hawley: And the other thing that was happening back then was there was some pretty major policy changes, including the introduction of the capital gains discount and the return of a first home buyers grant. So just remind me of those policies at that time. Alan Kohler: Yes. So in 1999, the Howard Government appointed a business tax review committee, a panel of three businessmen to report on the business tax system. And what they wanted to do, what Howard and Costello wanted to do then, was to reduce the company tax rate from 36 to 30%. So they asked some businessmen to tell them whether that was a good idea. And well, they told them it was a great idea. Go ahead. But in the course of doing that, they also recommended a change in the capital gains tax regime so that instead of the capital gains tax being adjusted for inflation, they recommended a simple 50% discount, which the Howard Government duly applied. Peter Costello, then-Treasurer: Under the reforms which we announced today, a 50% reduction in the taxable gain, that is 50% of the gain is not taxable. Alan Kohler: And although it's the case that that didn't really change the amount of capital gains tax at the time because inflation was quite high. So actually, the 50% discount was roughly the same as the inflation adjustment for the average time that people were holding assets. What I think happened was that it changed the psychology of investing in property because everyone understands a discount, whereas nobody really gets inflation and certainly can't do it in their heads. Sam Hawley: So even if you don't understand capital gains tax, just understand that if it's 50% discount, that's a good thing. Alan Kohler: Exactly. Sam Hawley: If you're a homeowner, right? Alan Kohler: Precisely. And that added to negative gearing, which had been in place for a long time, to make investing in housing an attractive thing to do. The businessmen who recommended it thought that it would lead to Australia becoming a nation of share owners and buy the shares of their companies and drive the prices higher and lower their cost of capital. But that, in fact, didn't happen because people just want to invest in housing. And that's what happened. And as you say, also the Howard government reintroduced first homebuyer grants in 2000, which had been out of action for a while. The first homebuyer grant was in the 1960s under Menzies, but the Hawke-Keating government didn't do them and Howard reintroduced them. Sam Hawley: Okay, so rates are going down. There's these two major policy changes. And at the time, there was a simply huge rise in immigration. Alan Kohler: Exactly. And what caused that in around about 2005 was a change to the way foreign students were assessed in 2001. On July 1st, 2001, the system was changed. Up to that point, foreign students' visas were issued on the basis of either gazetted countries or non-gazetted countries. China and India were included in the non-gazetted countries and it was very difficult for students from those places to get a visa. After July 1st, 2001, that changed and became the same for everybody, which is the way it ought to be, of course. But that led eventually to a huge increase in students from China and India from the mid-2000s. And that led to a doubling and then tripling of net overseas migration into Australia. At the time. Sam Hawley: Wow. All right. So we get a pot and then we put all these things into it and we stir it around. So there's the capital gains tax, there's the first homeowner's grant, the rates are dropping and there's this massive increase in immigration. And when you stir it all around, you come out, Alan, with house prices rising. Alan Kohler: Yes. Well, so all of those four things that we've discussed added to demand from investors and migrants and so on. So there was a big increase in demand, but there was no response in supply. The government did nothing about increasing supply at the time. And the result was that for 10 years, between 2005 and 2015, there was a dire, big shortage of housing, an undersupply of housing for a decade, which really set the scene for a big increase in house prices. And what happened was that the house price to income ratio rose from between three to four times incomes, this is average incomes in 2000, to eight or nine times incomes at the end of that time. And that was a huge change in the way that housing related to people's incomes and also GDP of the there was a stop to immigration during the pandemic. And then post the pandemic, population growth has gone back to more than 2% per annum, which is what it was in the period after 2005. Sam Hawley: All right. So, Alan, that's the history of the skyrocketing house prices and how we ended up here. Now, today, interesting that we have exactly the same conditions. Alan Kohler: That's right. The Reserve Bank is cutting interest rates, probably not by six times, but by probably four or five times this year, possibly into next year as well. We've got first time buyer grants back on. We've got a big increase in migration. I mean, the Treasury forecast in the budget for this financial year, net overseas migration is 335,000. But in the first nine months of the year, it's already 360,000 and looks like being 400,000 this year. There's no targets on immigration, but there's a Treasury forecast and net overseas migration is going to well exceed the Treasury forecast. And of course, there's been no change in the capital gains tax discount because the Labor Party failed to win in 2016 and 2019, where that is their policy to reduce it 25%. All the conditions are in place for another rise in house prices. Sam Hawley: Exactly. So what are we seeing already and what do we expect to see then when it comes to the cost of housing in Australia? Alan Kohler: Between November last year and January this year, house prices actually fell by close to 1%. This is the national median price, having increased 17% in the previous 12 months or so. And since January, they've risen again by more than the increase in average wages over that period. News report: House prices are continuing to rise across the country, with experts predicting property values to grow between 6 and 10% by the end of the year. All the capitals rose more than 0.4 of a percent in May. That brings the national index 1.7% higher over the first five months of the year. Alan Kohler: House prices are already starting to rise in excess of the rise in incomes. And the thing is, you know, everyone says houses are unaffordable, which is kind of true, which you would think would mean house prices don't rise very much now, because if they're unaffordable already, then people can't afford them. But in fact, falling interest rates makes them more affordable. The determinant of affordability is the amount you can afford in terms of interest repayments or mortgage repayments. Really, a better measure might be time to save a deposit, because the problem is that deposits are becoming unreachable for a lot of people. So housing is becoming inaccessible. It's OK if you've got a deposit, because your parents have given you one, given you the money, but those who don't have access to some sort of provision of a deposit can't get into housing. And that's the problem. Sam Hawley: Yeah. There's just a certain number of people that keep buying properties and pushing the amount or the cost of properties up. I mean, there's enough people that can afford the properties because the property price keeps going upwards and upwards. Alan Kohler: Correct. The truth is that if you don't have a parent who can give you the money for a deposit or some other way of getting ahold of a deposit, as opposed to saving it, you're a renter. You cannot buy a house. That is the reality of the situation, particularly in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, but increasingly in Perth and Adelaide and Hobart as well, and also everywhere in Australia. I don't know what's to be done about it, really. Sam Hawley: All right. Oh, gosh. So, dare I ask you then, if you don't have the bank of mum and dad or any family members that can actually help you in this process of getting this massive deposit to buy a home, is there really no chance ever that you're going to land in the property market at this point? Alan Kohler: Well, there has to be a big shift in the value of housing versus incomes. Prices would need to go back to the sort of relationship to incomes that they were 25 years ago, which is three to four times instead of the current sort of nine or 10 times. And the only way that's going to happen is if house prices stay where they are for a while, like a long time, like 20 years. Now, that will only happen if there's an oversupply of housing for that period. Both the federal government and the state governments are all doing what they can. They're working hard. I know, you know, they're genuinely working hard to increase supply, but there's a problem. The trouble is that the construction industry doesn't have the capacity, partly because productivity is so low. In fact, the Committee for Economic Development in Australia, CEDA, released a report about construction productivity and why is it so low. And they do say in the report that we're building now half as many houses per worker as we did in the 70s. So that's fallen by half. But not only is productivity low, the number of workers is also in decline because the average age of builders tends to be quite high. They're all retiring and there's not enough apprentices coming through. The government is talking about increasing the number of tradies who they bring in as migrants, which is definitely what's needed. They're not talking about anywhere near enough of them coming in. And any way, the regulator of the industry is reluctant to recognise foreign qualifications in the construction industry. So, you know, there's a real kind of blockage of kind of productivity and number of people in the construction industry. I think it's going to be difficult to achieve the kind of oversupply of housing over the next sort of decade or two that is required. Sam Hawley: And Alan, while we're waiting for all these houses to be built, conditions are absolutely ripe for house prices just to keep surging. Alan Kohler: Yeah. And the governments, in addition to doing the work that they're doing on supply, which is good, they're also kind of doing short-term band-aid measures, including helping first homebuyers, either through help to buy schemes or grants and so on. And so that just tends to increase demand and increase prices, because a lot of those grants just end up on the price. So, yeah, look, I don't think it's particularly good news on the subject of housing. I'd like it to be different. And there's no big magic bullet. There's just going to be a lot of sort of small work, grinding work to be done. And, you know, the fact is we have to go through a period where housing is a really bad investment. Sam Hawley: Alan Kohler presents the Finance Report on the ABC's 7pm News. This episode was produced by Sydney Pead. Audio production by Adair Sheppard. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I'm Sam Hawley. Thanks for listening.
