Royal commission into drug imports: Crime lecturer Vincent Hurley says there would be challenges

A former award-winning detective and academic authority on law enforcement, who previously led probes into drug trafficking across the state, says a royal commission is a good idea but wouldn’t stop the flow of cocaine.

former Police Minister Paul Toole called for a royal commission into how drugs are entering NSW through airports and ports, fuelling Sydney’s underworld war.

A former award-winning detective and academic authority on law enforcement, who previously led probes in major drug trafficking, says a royal commission is a good idea but wouldn’t stop the flow of cocaine.

It comes as the former Police Minister Paul Toole called for a royal commission into how drugs are entering NSW through airports and ports, fuelling Sydney’s underworld war.

Ferenc “David” Stemler, 28, was shot dead outside his home at Canterbury on Thursday, less than 24 hours after bullets were fired at high profile lawyer Mahmoud Abbas outside his Greenacre home.

Days earlier Ahmad Al-Azzam was shot in the same suburb while sitting in his car and died on Thursday from his wounds.

Emergency services were called to a home on Narelle Crescent, Greenacre, after reports of shots fired. Picture: NCA NewsWire.

A man was shot dead at a home on Broughton St in Canterbury on July 27. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Macquarie University security studies and criminology lecturer Vincent Hurley, who served 29 years in the NSW police force, said a “good majority” of the recent shootings across Sydney’s southwest had been “tit for tat between families over drugs or organised crime”.

“The desire to own territory or remain in control over organised crime can be family oriented, so they could do their drive by shootings to extend their influence over other families,” he said.

“Unless these individuals can put their egos aside, there’s going to be this ongoing conflict, but a lot of it is ingrained in their pride as they want to be the person who controls the most drugs in the geographic area.”

Macquarie University lecturer Vincent Hurley says a royal commission was a good idea but wouldn’t stop the flow of cocaine.

Mr Hurley said while a royal commission sounds like a good idea, he doubted the recommendations would stop the importation of cocaine.

“While we can come up with all these recommendations you can’t stop it at the source, the cartels, there’s so much cocaine,” he said.

“What worries me is that they would make recommendations but for genuine reasons they wouldn’t be implemented as the state and federal governments have limited resources,” he said.

He also raised concerns a royal commission “would probably be politicised to some degree, depending on who was in government”.

“The royal commission into NSW police in 2000 was specific, there was no politicisation of it … whereas focusing on drugs in Australia, that’s a massive task.”