Sydney’s crime gang kingpins and their kill squads

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: As Sydney’s criminal labyrinth expands, police struggle to stem the bloodshed and tide of drugs, crime editor Mark Morri writes.

The state’s top secret crime fighting body says 607 kingpins rule Sydney streets. Picture: Generic image

• SYDNEY’S CRIME GANGS WIN DRUG WAR

SITTING at the top of the 607 names of organised crime figures plying their evil trade in NSW was a former Hells Angel bikie called Wayne Schneider.

Schneider, until his murder, was considered by the NSW Crime Commission to be the most influential drug supplier to the state. He had risen from a lowly drug cook to become a major international kingpin whose worth was in the tens of millions until he was beaten to death in Thailand.

Like other Sydney crime figures such as Comanchero Mark Buddle, former bouncer Vaso Ulic, Daux Ngakuru and Hakan Ayak, the 37-year old had moved his operations offshore.

“There are scores of expats, particularly bikies, moving overseas for a number of reasons but the main one is they are being constantly harassed by the NSW Gang Squad, particularly Strike Force Raptor,’’ said a senior NSW police officer.

“Many take off because they think they are going to be arrested. Buddle and another associate are in Dubai because they are the number one suspects in the murder of Gary Allibon, a Sydney security guard.’’

FULL STORY: HOW SYDNEY’S DRUG GANGS HAVE WON

But it doesn’t stop the flow of drugs or violence. The web surrounding Schneider’s operation and his murder show the complex labyrinth of the Sydney crime scene.

One of the most feared Sydney gangsters, Raphael Joseph, a founding member of a violent street gang called the DLAST HR, was a friend of Schnieder’s, both becoming international crime figures.

Sydney gangster Raphael Joseph’s body has never been found.

Like his mate Schneider, Joseph is now dead, although his body was never found. On the day he vanished he met with Schneider’s ex-wife then went to the casino for dinner with a comanchero before a mystery call lured him to a meeting where police say he was murdered.

Another Sydney crime figure, Antonia Bagnato, is now standing trial for Schneider’s death in Thailand. The 26-year-old kick boxer is the main suspect in the execution shooting of Bradley Dillon in Leichhardt in 2014.

“You try to work your way through that maze. There are circles within circles,’’ said one detective.

Former assistant NSW police commissioner Clive Small has seen the growth of organised crime in Sydney for more than 30 years and has intimate knowledge of the workings of crime gangs, particularly the Italian mafia.

“There are 31 mafia families doing drug importations and other crimes throughout Australia. Many are based in NSW and report to bosses in Calabria,’’ Mr Small said.

“For many years the Italians were the major source of drugs in Australia and they still are. They keep a low profile and work quietly and still have significant influence politically through businesses making donations to political parties.

“But what we have seen in recent years is a the rise of many other crime gangs such as the Middle Eastern and bikie networks with young violent men wanting to move up the ladder.’’

Former assistant NSW police commissioner Clive Small. Picture: Richard Dobson

Mr Small, who investigated many of the gangland murders in Sydney during the 1980s, agrees with the NSW Crime Commission findings that organised killings are on the rise.

“There are now a growing number of people, or “hit squads’’, prepared to kill for money. A lot more than there used to and that is well known in the NSW police force.

“It used to be that to organise a contract killing you had to go to a very deep underworld network and have someone vouch for you. There were a handful of people like Christopher Dale Flannery who were known to take on the job. It seems easier and more prevalent to organise now.’’

Another problem is the under resourcing of the police force, with the NSW Police Association claiming there are about 500 positions short across Sydney.

“That is 500 street cops gathering intelligence on the street to pass on to detectives to help identify new players and dealers,’’ said another source.

While the Crime Commission has pointed out the staggering profits and reach of organised crime it has gone out of its way not to appropriate blame saying the problem is one of supply and demand and Australia’s ferocious appetite for drugs.

Deep in its annual report from last year, the Commission suggests the solution is not one of arresting people but a totally different approach to the drug problem.

“The problem is not just a law enforcement issue, and requires a more holistic and co-ordinated government response,’’ it stated.

Many have read that as the commission suggesting there be some form of legislation of drugs.

“We know there are people within law enforcement agencies around the country who are subtlety advocating the legalisation of drugs,’’ said a senior NSW police officer.

“It’s not a view shared by senior police in NSW.’’