What Chung Chak Lee’s extradition means for Australia
The extradition of Chung Chak Lee, is one of the most significant moments in Australia’s law enforcement history. This is why it matters.
Police & Courts
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Analysis: The name Chung Chak Lee will not mean much to most people when they pick up the paper this morning, or read this story on their phone or tablet.
He’s not a household name like Tony Mokbel, one of Melbourne’s biggest drug dealers, or Tarek Zahed, the Comanchero boss shot through the eye at a Sydney gym.
But the extradition of Lee, who touched down in Melbourne on Saturday, is one of the most significant moments in Australia’s law enforcement history.
Lee is accused of being a key lieutenant in The Company or Sam Gor.
He’s charged with importing 42kg of drugs into Australia, but the cartel he allegedly works for makes $23 billion each year.
That would be enough to build more than 20 major hospitals every year in Australia.
His alleged boss Chi Lop Tse is sitting in an Amsterdam jail, he might be dragged back to Australia soon too.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw delivered a speech to the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group in Sydney this week.
That includes the spies and police from Britain, the United States, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.
They share their tips to crack down on organised crime.
In the speech, he posed the question, “Why should I care about what you are doing, and how does this affect me or my family?”
And, “Why do you bother with the war on illicit drugs?”
The answer is that the drugs that are ruining communities are coming from overseas, with up to 70 per cent linked to The Company.
Mr Kershaw said organised crime was “importing illicit drugs into Australia on an industrial scale. These drugs end up in our cities and suburbs.”
“It makes our roads less safe. A motorist affected by drugs is the equivalent of a loaded weapon behind the wheel of a car.
“They are indiscriminately killing and maiming law-abiding citizens.
“This is not just happening on highways – this is happening in our sleepy suburbs, where our kids walk to school or ride their bikes on weekends.”
Mr Kershaw was not speaking directly about the extradition of Chung Chak Lee. The AFP declined interview requests for the investigation published today.
But in the speech, he hit the nail on the head of why Australia must keep sending its police officers to work across the world.
It’s those quiet coffees in Yangon, Myanmar, the catch ups with local police in Bangkok on the side of those busy roads, and the cups of tea at posh hotels in Hong Kong that make all the difference.
“The AFP is posted in 33 countries and our longstanding relationships are helping to keep Australians safe in ways we could never fully reveal,” he said.
“Police-to-police relationships cannot be undervalued and will become more important as parts of the world remain unsettled.”
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