The crooks and bikies Victoria Police’s new organised crime fighting force VIPER will strike

Some cruise around in Lamborghinis, date reality stars and flaunt flash lifestyles. Others haul drugs. VIPER will be watching every move they make.

The new VIPER task force will be watching and visiting regional drug ‘hot spots’ like Geelong, Shepparton and Mildura, as well as Melbourne and its suburbs.

The idea is simple. If you’re a bad guy, or woman, or even a middleman, Task force VIPER will be in your face.

VIPER is the newest, and biggest, weapon in Victoria Police’s arsenal to combat serious organised crime – and when it comes to defining “serious”, it ranges from highly organised traditional crime groups such as outlaw bikie clubs to youth street gangs who organise fights and home invasions on social media.

What is clear though, is the force’s Chief Commissioner Shane Patton is ploughing significant resources into the 80-strong VIPER, which will use intelligence to target those causing the state the most harm.

Acting Commander Peter Brigham and the man who will run the new task force, Detective Inspector Anthony Brown, are working under the weight of heavy expectations.

Mr Patton wants to “smash” organised crime networks at the coalface.

VIPER task force will confront criminal activity in any house, street, suburb or town by tackling those its intelligence tells them is behind it.

Outlaw bikies are in VIPER’s sights. Picture: David Crosling

Although Commander Brigham and Inspector Brown will not divulge whether they will work off a list of known offenders, you get the impression they know their targets.

It is no secret that most of them will be involved in the cornerstone of crime, illicit drugs, and the never-ending fight over market share.

Like any multi-billion dollar business where money is at stake, market share is everything.

It leads to rivalries and gunfire, whether it be shooting rounds into a house or into a rival’s leg, or worse.

The aim for VIPER is to be an “enduring and persistent” crime fighting model that those in Victoria’s underbelly will quickly become familiar with.

It shares similarities with NSW Police’s highly touted Raptor task force, but it will not be identical. Raptor has aggressively tackled NSW’s outlaw bikie and Middle Eastern crime wave where the bullets have been flying. VIPER will also be ``highly visible’’.

Asked what the task force’s impact will be, Commander Brigham and Inspector Brown trade glance sideways. They agree on “significant”.

Commander Brigham describes a scenario where our most dangerous crooks and their underlings will find it hard to operate.

“By being in their faces, having regular contact with them, gathering intelligence about them, about their activities, about their associates, their movements and their assets,’’ Mr Brigham explains.

“These people being targeted by VIPER will regularly see police.”

Chief Commissioner Shane Patton with VIPER task force members Det Insp Anthony Brown, Sgt Helen McCormack and Public Order Response Team officers. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Inspector Brown describes a swarming approach to criminal activity.

“We will deploy in large numbers where required as well as targeting those the intelligence suggests are responsible for the most harm to the Victorian community,” Inspector Brown says.

“They’re the ones we will be targeting.

The targets are often easy to pick.

“A lot of them put their hands up to say ‘this is the life we lead’,’’ Inspector Brown says.

VIPER — an acronym for visibility, intelligence, prevention, enforcement and reassurance — is an old-style boots on the ground unit.

A bit like 1970s new wave rock band the Police’s greatest hit, Every Breath You Take, if you’re a heavy crook or a violent thug, they will be watching you.

So who are these targets? We’ve all seen them.

The type that cruises around all day in a Lamborghini and the next day a more family friendly black Mercedes AMG G-class wagon; even though this wealthy individual doesn’t appear to have a job.

These guys have a seemingly endless supply of cash, often live in high-rise apartments and a few of them date reality stars.

Think outlaw bikies, Middle Eastern organised crime figures, bejewelled gangsters and street hoods.

Their entitlement and bravado leads many of them to brag about their lifestyle on social media. After all, what’s the point of having it if you can’t flaunt it?

It is also an effective recruiting tool.

These strategies, among others, entice followers to become “runners’’ and “facilitators” who are the engine room of organised crime.

VIPER will be hunting these associates too, who range from car thieves, to couriers and wannabe entrepreneurs.

More businesses, including franchises, than the average punter would realise are owned by underworld figures.

Gyms, tattoo parlours, strip joints, waste management and even restaurants are among the legitimate businesses they own, which are used to wash their illicit money.

But the high-flying criminal is not the name you find in a company search, especially if a liquor licence is involved.

That’s where the associate, commonly a “clean skin” comes in handy as the front man.

Those at the top rarely like getting their hands dirty, but always put their hands in the till. Then there’s the sad and the desperate, who fall into heavy crime networks.

Truck drivers who haul drugs and other illicit items across the nation face a clamp down from the state highway patrol. Picture: Supplied

These facilitators are on notice too. Some are paying off gambling or drug debts while others are simply greedy.

Inspector Brown also points out that truck drivers who haul drugs and other illicit items across the nation face a clamp down from the state highway patrol.

“If you’re a dodgy associate of an organised crime gang who drives a truck, you might find that truck is going to get a pretty lengthy inspection,’’ he said.

At the other end of the spectrum, those on bail and parole can expect more knocks on their door to check they are home at curfew.

And our emerging crooks can expect a firearm prohibition order (FPO) some time soon.

Those under an FPO found with a firearm can be jailed for up to 10 years. They can also be searched at any time without a warrant.

Commander Brigham said Victoria’s regions can also expect to see VIPER visit their town if there’s a problem. The rate of drugs being used is a good indicator, with Geelong, Shepparton and Mildura among the ‘hot spots’.

“There are hot spots across Victoria,” he says. “Our waste water tells us where some of these rural hot spots are.’’

No one, however, believed Fawkner cemetery would become a ‘hot spot’ on June 5, when Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim, a professional boxer, was ambushed by two masked gunmen shortly after attending his cousin’s funeral

Boxer Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulramin was ambushed at his cousin’s Fawkner funeral by masked gunmen. Picture: Instagram

“Clearly what happened was absolutely disgusting,” Inspector Brown says.

In the future, VIPER task force would respond immediately to public violence events like that one, not only to bang on doors but to reassure the public that police were visible.

The new task force brings together detectives, intelligence officers and Public Order Response Team members who will be supported by specialist road policing and uniform officers.