More than 50 suspected Italian crime families under investigation by the Australian Federal Police
The heritage of Italian crime families suspected of having links to the Mafia is being quietly traced, with hundreds of people under scrutiny.
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The Mafia is laundering billions of dollars in Australia every year, much of it through professional money-cleaning operations masquerading as legitimate businesses.
The Australian Federal Police will on Tuesday announce details of a major assault on Italian organised crime gangs bringing in billions of dollars in drugs and washing dirty money.
High-profile business players are among an estimated 5000 people believed involved in the Australian Calabrian Mafia activities.
The AFP is investigating more than 50 suspected Italian crime families operating here – including the infamous Ndrangheta clan, which is notoriously violent and secretive.
Some local family leaders are suspected of taking their orders from mob bosses back in Italy, with some Australian members making annual visits to attend traditional religious festivals, such as the Our Lady of Polsi festival, but actually meeting the heads of the family to receive orders.
It is understood the AFP has been quietly mapping out an Australian family tree of members from the different clans operating in Australia, including 14 syndicates from the Ndrangheta, revealing the true extent of organised crime here.
These Italian mafia groups are also operating with Middle Eastern crime gangs, Asian triads, South American cartels and local outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Intelligence holdings were yielded by the AFP’s Ironside operation in 2021, exposing Comanchero bikies and connected organised crime figures.
As exclusively revealed in the Herald Sun, they had been using the AN0M app – a communications platform they wrongly believed could not be spied on by law enforcement agencies.
The Mafia activity is intertwined with industrial-scale trafficking, which supplies about 70 per cent of the world’s cocaine trade. It is worth an estimated $70bn a year globally.
The AFP recently hosted a secret international conference in Melbourne to discuss strategies to deal with the international scourge. Their next step will be to use the world-leading surveillance legislation, introduced by the federal government last year to combat high-level online crime.
Authorities believe billions of dollars are being laundered through businesses only existing for the purpose of legitimising criminal proceeds.
Some are well-known companies with significant industry figures who have ties with business leaders.
In some cases large-scale laundering comes via the property market where the Italians lend huge sums to Chinese investors to sink into real estate.
In co-operation with Italian law enforcement hundreds of people are expected to come under scrutiny. Pizzerias, hotels, real estate agencies and catering companies have previously been revealed as the kind of businesses connected to the Mafia in Australia.
Originally published as More than 50 suspected Italian crime families under investigation by the Australian Federal Police
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