What Commission? Asian gangs ignore deadly bikie-led cartel, police say

Not everyone is listening to the dangerous drug cartel believed to be led by feared bikies, as Asian gangs charge ahead for cold hard cash.

“The Commission” has attempted to rule Sydney’s streets with an iron fist, by implementing a tax on other drug imports and dictating the sale price of cocaine and ice to the underworld.

But not everyone is listening to them.

The Comanchero bikie gang-led drug cartel has made headlines for sending out threatening text messages to their underworld rivals, most recently threatening to “chop the head off” rivals who refuse to pay them a tax on drug imports.

But the boss of NSW Police State Crime Command’s Organised Crime Squad, Peter Faux, said the headline-making threats of The Commission would be of little concern to the Asian crime gangs.

“There’s a lot of talk around The Commission and how they are running and controlling drugs in Australia, and there’s a lot of narrative around it,” Detective Superintendent Faux said.

Organised Crime Squad boss Peter Faux and Drug & Firearms Squad commander John Watson outside NSW Police Headquarters in Parramatta. Picture: Brendan Read

The Commission drug cartel is believed to be led by senior Comanchero bikies. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

“I see it and hear it, and you know, all this talk of price fixing around by The Commission … I could almost certainly say that these (South East Asian) crime groups we’re talking about would not be influenced one bit by that messaging.

“That’s one aspect of their business that they (The Commission) feel as though they need to do, to come in and say, listen, this is what we’re doing.

“Asian organised crime is the polar opposite. It’s about not being on the radar. Do your due diligence, absolutely. Work hard to get the results.”

Several of the 18 organised crime-related murders that have occurred on Sydney’s streets in recent years are believed to have been linked to The Commission.

But while bikie gangs like the Comanchero, and crime clans like the Alameddines and Hamzys, have been involved in a tit-for-tat war, Asian organised crime syndicates have avoided being involved in the carnage.

Det Supt Faux said there may be a simple reason for this: “They (the other crime clans) may not even know who they are.”

Alen Moradian, a member of The Commission, was shot dead in Bondi Junction last month.

He added that the conflict of the past two-and-a-half years has “definitely” helped Asian crime gangs.

“I mean, the fact that they’re not involved in it, the fact that the conflict is over and bringing attention to those involved in the conflict,” Det Supt Faux said.

“Conclusively, it’s kind of drawing law enforcement attention, the attention of you guys (the media) and the public in the direction of the conflict, which works in their favour.”