NSW Police Taskforce Lupin smashes Asian crime syndicates in Sydney
A covert police taskforce has blown apart Asian crime syndicates accused of being involved in fire bombings, shootings and violent home invasions across Sydney. See the pictures.
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A secret police taskforce claims it has smashed a number of Asian crime syndicates involved in fire bombings, shootings, violent home invasions, large-scale drug manufacturing and kidnappings across southwest Sydney.
Over the past six months, Taskforce Lupin has arrested more than 33 people, dismantled three drug labs, seized six firearms and $600,000 cash, and taken more than $10 million worth of methamphetamine off the streets.
Detective Superintendent Peter Faux, head of the NSW Organised Crime Squad, said 40 officers were enlisted into the squad after local southwest police noticed an increase in extreme violence this year “where most of the alleged victims and perpetrators were of Asian background”.
“Taskforce Lupin identified organised crime networks allegedly responsible for carrying out the violent crimes, which they claim was motivated by a desire to control the supply and manufacture of prohibited drugs in the region,” Det Supt Faux said.
In one incident, a house in Fairfield West was firebombed six months after the targets, allegedly rival drug dealers, had moved out, with one of the innocent victims suffering third degree burns which will require lifelong treatment.
The clandestine labs were found in Canley Vale, Fairfield and Mollyan, north of Dubbo.
Covert strategies were deployed during the six-month investigation targeting the networks, which investigators say were almost exclusively of Vietnamese background.
The taskforce worked with the NSW Crime Commission in an all-out assault on the Asian networks in a bid to crush them before they had a chance to unify and grow in power, potentially creating the danger of conflict with Middle Eastern crime gangs in the area.
Police allege much of the violence was over drug debts and territory disputes within their own crime networks and was organised over 16 encrypted devices, which the strikeforce has seized.
Police will allege one of the men arrested, Kenny Ho, was a muscle man for one of the groups, who they claim used the handle “shoot n score” on messenger app Threema.
The 25-year-old was charged with 11 offences, including discharging a firearm to cause grievous bodily harm and firing a firearm to injure a person over a driveby shooting in Guildford West on June 3, and also the alleged “kneecapping‘’ of a man in Carnes Hill the following week.
Police allege up to eight men wearing face coverings forced entry into the home and poured petrol throughout before allegedly shooting an occupant.
“There was a real challenge in getting some of the people we allege were perpetrating the violence off the street as quickly as possible while still carrying out investigations to make sure we were still able to arrest some of those we claim were higher up,” he said.
During a dawn raid in Liverpool on Thursday, heavily armed police arrested Thanh Tung John Le, 37, who police allege was one of the major players in one of the networks.
He was charged with 19 offences relating to commercial quantities of drugs and firearm possession and was refused bail at Parramatta local court yesterday.
A 24-year-old man was also charged on Thursday with possessing or using a prohibited weapon and possessing an unauthorised firearm.
“During the six months of Lupin, we have gathered a lot of intelligence and will make more arrests. We also know there are more crimes that have been committed,” Supt Faux said.
He said, culturally and historically, many in the Asian community did not report crimes, and the Asian crime gangs tended to keep a lower profile compared to Middle Eastern and bikie gangs.
“Traditionally, Asian crime members tend not to flaunt their proceeds of crime by driving exotic cars and the like because they don’t want to bring attention to themselves,” he said.
“They try to fly under the radar, even when they commit crimes, which is why we acted so quickly when we saw there were such overt crimes like arson and shootings not normally associated with Asian organised crime.
“When it became apparent some of these crime networks had moved into production of meth it was a worrying sign they may be trying to move into that area which could bring them into conflict with other crime networks like the Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs and Middle Eastern crime organisations.”
While those arrested were all in Sydney, the Telegraph understands police will allege the drugs were being distributed in other parts of the state.
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