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NEWS: 8/08/08 - World's largest ecstasy bust

Pistachio

Bluelighter
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Oct 2, 2006
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[EDIT: Split off to own thread. hoptis]

Cops swoop on alleged mafia drug barons
Nick McKenzie and Cameron Houston
August 8, 2008

The Australian Federal Police is this morning raiding the homes of some of Australia's alleged underworld 'Mr Bigs' in connection to the seizure of the world's largest shipment of ecstasy.

Fifteen people have been arrested as a result of the raids, including nine Victorians, three people from New South Wales (NSW), two South Australians and one Tasmanian.

The ecstasy shipment that triggered the operation - 4.4 tonnes or 15 million pills - was imported from Italy into Melbourne in June last year.

AFP officers raided premises in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, including the homes of figures linked to the Calabrian mafia in the NSW Riverina town of Griffith.

Griffith was named in the 1979 Woodward Royal Commission as home to a cell of Calabrian mafia or "honoured society" members.

The AFP this morning swooped on the home of the alleged boss of the network behind the ecstasy importation, Pasquale Barbaro, 46, of Tharbagong on the outskirts of Griffith.

Barbaro is the son of Francesco "Little Trees" Barbaro, who was named at the Woodward Royal Commissionas a member of the Griffith-based Calabrian crime cell behind the disappearance of anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay in 1977.

The Australian Federal Police raided the properties of up to sixteen suspects in last year's drug importation including:

- drug baron and founder of the Black Uhlans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, John William Samuel Higgs

- Rob Karam, who is alleged to control a corrupt network of Melbourne dock and freight workers in order to facilitate drug importations.

Four properties in Griffith were raided by the AFP this morning.

Almost 20 federal agents combed Pasquale Barbaro's sprawling Griffith mansion, complete with palm trees and ornamental fountain.

The Riverina houses built by the Calabrian crime figures identified by Justice Philip Woodward in 1979 were known as "grass castles" because they were funded by cannabis planations.

Federal police and customs found last year's shipment of ecstasy tablets - with an alleged street value of $440 million - in a shipment of tomato tins on June 28.

A subsequent surveillance operation resulted in today's raids.

The AFP operation has also linked the crime network to the importation of 150 kilograms of cocaine seized by customs last month.

Those suspected of being part of the network include men of Italian, Lebanese, Indian and Australian heritage.

Pasquale Barbaro was found guilty in connection to a massive marijuana plantation discovered in NSW in 1989, but had his conviction quashed in 2000.

John Higgs has been targeted by state and federal police for two decades. He was a key suspect in Australia's longest-running drug investigation, which led to the arrest of 135 people and the seizure of chemicals with the potential to make amphetamines valued at $200 million.

Mr Karam is an associate of alleged drug baron Tony Mokbel and was one of Crown Casino's top 200 gamblers before being banned from the casino by Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon.

Mr Karam was acquitted in 2007 of organising the importation of five million ecstasy tablets.

He has also been acquitted of charges of importing three-tonnes of hash which police believe was organised by the Moran crime family.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...fia-drug-barons/2008/08/08/1218139032584.html


Misleadingly reported by most news agencies, they are trying to give the impression that the police just engaged in the largest ever drug bust, but the bust itself occured a year ago.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
AFP smash global drug syndicate
Reko Rennie
August 8, 2008 - 12:18PM

Australian Federal Police say they have smashed an international drug syndicate - allegedly responsible for up to 60% of drug imports to south-east Australia - following the world's single largest seizure of 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy in Melbourne.

AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said 16 people - including nine Victorians - were arrested after early morning raids across Australia today and investigations into alleged Calabrian mafia connections are continuing.
Federal police drugs swoop

Age reporter Cameron Houston details the raid on alleged underworld drug barons by the Australian Federal Police.

"(We're) still working on that theory," Commissioner Keelty said.

Search warrants were executed in Belgium, The Netherlands and Italy during the night, Commissioner Keelty said.

"We are part of a European and Australian attempt to shut this syndicate down," Commissioner Keelty said.

"The fact that a syndicate can sit back after importing 4.4 tonnes of narcotics (and) can continue to operate is something that seizes the minds of investigators and has focused our work over the 12 months or so," Commissioner Keelty said.

The AFP held off on releasing information about the record haul at the time in a bid to catch members of the syndicate, but no one showed up to pick up the $440 million cargo.

"If you think it through, there aren't too many boardrooms in Australia where you write off half-a-billion dollars worth of a commodity, of product and continue your business,'' Commissioner Keelty said.

The 12-month investigation began in June last year when a shipping container from Italy arrived in Melbourne and was found to contain tomato tins containing ecstasy pills with an estimated street value of $440 million.

Customs CEO Michael Carmody said small snippets of intelligence received over a year ago helped detect the drug haul.

"(Intelligence received) over 12 months ago led us and law enforcement to suspect the shipments of ecstasy from out of Italy," Mr Carmody said.

"Armed with very general intelligence ... (we) narrowed that down from two ships to one ship and then to one container, in around 800 arriving in Melbourne around that time," he said.

After identifying the container that arrived in Melbourne on June 28 last year, Customs officials X-rayed a shipping container that was packed full of 13,000 tins that supposedly contained tomatoes.

"Amongst 3000 of those tins that were opened, we discovered 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy tablets," Mr Carmody said.

"This is a very sophisticated concealment, even to the extent of adding stones to some of the containers to give them the same weight of a tin of tomatoes."

Mr Carmody said an AFP and Customs investigation commenced into the drug syndicate and identified another shipping container that arrived in Melbourne on July 24 last month, containing 150 kilograms of cocaine.

"In the second case it was much less sophisticated, in this case the container was carrying bags of coffee beans and thrown on top of the container of coffee beans were three vinyl bags which will be alleged contained the cocaine," Mr Carmody said.

Commissioner Keelty said last year's seizure of the 15 million ecstasy tablets gave police time to analyse and investigate the second seizure during which the AFP and Customs worked closely with other European law enforcement agencies.

"What I can tell you is that this is part of a global international syndicate, this is a major disruption to trans-national organised crime both in this country and abroad," Commissioner Keelty said.

Commissioner Keelty said there were huge resources involved in a bust of this size.

"There have been 185,000 telephone intercepts in this operation, 400 members committed to this operation, there have been 10,000 hours of surveillance employed to this operation," Commissioner Keelty said.

Commissioner Keelty said 16 people including nine Victorians, three people from NSW, two South Australians and one Tasmanian have been arrested.

"It's classic organised crime and we have done our best to shut down this syndicate, those alleged to be involved will appear before courts this morning."

The AFP has also identified a money laundering program and uncovered $9 million cash involved in various syndicate transactions.

Commissioner Keelty said from further intelligence gathered on the drug syndicate, they are allegedly involved in up to 60 % of ecstasy and cocaine importations into south-east Australia.

"Our estimation and our intelligence indicate this syndicate is alleged to be involved in something in the order of 60% of importations coming into the south-east Australia,'' Commissioner Keelty said.

"Our belief and our estimate, the work of customs, the state and territory police and ourselves has saved the Australian community something in the order of $2 billion worth of harm in this joint operation that extended over the past 12 months," Commissioner Keelty said.

Several men will appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court later today.

The Age
 
'World's biggest drug haul'
By staff writers
August 08, 2008 11:43am

THE world's biggest ecstasy haul, 15 million pills, was imported into Australia disguised as tinned tomatoes last year but stopped by authorities , it has been revealed.

Police arrested 15 people during raids across the nation after the huge shipment was imported into Melbourne in June last year.

The 4.4-tonne shipment of ecstasy came from Italy, police said.

The drugs, with an alleged street value of $440 million, were shipped into Melbourne on June 28, 2007.

The joint investigation by Customs and Australian Federal Police began when intelligence from law enforcement agencies was passed to Customs, which found and searched a shipping container that arrived in Melbourne.

Customs officers unpacked the pallets that contained tomato tins which on closer inspection were found to contain ecstasy tablets.

Customs officers and AFP agents examined the container and found more than 3000 tins, each weighing about 1.5kg, containing MDMA tablets with an approximate street value of $440 million.

The contents of the container were substituted with a harmless substance then released.

Another shipping container, which arrived in Melbourne on July 24 this year was found to contain 150kg of cocaine.

This investigation also identified a money-laundering operation worth more than $9 million that the syndicate allegedly used to pay for the illegal drugs.

The AFP executed 45 search warrants across Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales.

According to The Age newspaper, buildings linked to the Calabrian mafia - known in Italy as “‘Ndrangheta” and in Australia as the “honoured society” or “the family” - were raided this morning.

Nine Victorians, two South Australians, a Tasmanian and three people from New South Wales were arrested.

The home of Griffith man Pasquale Barbaro, 46, was also searched today.

The Age said he was the alleged boss of an amphetamine network.

His father Francesco Barbaro was named as a member of the Calabrian mafia by the Woodward Royal Commission, held following the disappearance of anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay in 1977.

The homes of the founder of the Black Uhlans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, John William Samuel Higgs, and Rob Karam were among some of the locations reportedly raided following last year’s shipment seizure.

Customs chief executive Michael Carmody said the detection of the drugs on board the ship highlighted his officers' ability to stop drugs reaching the Australian market.

“Customs and its law enforcement partners are working hard to stop shipments like these from reaching Australian streets,” Mr Carmody said.

AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said the investigation was a major victory against drug traffickers.

“Investigations, like this one, that include targeting the illegal financing of organised criminal syndicates involved in the global trade in illicit drugs are proving highly successful and ensure an economic as well as social return for the community,” Mr Keelty said.

News.com.au
 
16 arrested in 'world's biggest ecstasy bust'
8/08/08

r279885_1186962.jpg

Customs officer unpacking cans allegedly containing ecstasy.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers have arrested 16 people across Australia following what Customs is calling the world's largest ecstasy bust.

The AFP says 4.4 tonnes of the drug has been seized and people have been arrested in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia.

The pills had a street value of $440 million and were found packed in more than 3,000 tomato tins in a shipping container which arrived in Melbourne on June 28, 2007.

The drugs were substituted for an inert substance and the shipping container was monitored.

On July 24 this year Customs and the AFP intercepted another shipping container in Melbourne, which was found to contain 150 kilograms of a white powder which appeared to be cocaine after testing.

The AFP executed 45 search warrants this morning as part of the investigation into an international drug syndicate.

Some of those who have been arrested are alleged to be involved with major drug trafficking in Australia.

The AFP says the investigation also identified a money-laundering operation worth more than $49 million.

"This is part of a global, international syndicate, this a major disruption to transnational organised crime, both in this country and abroad," AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said.

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland says the seizure shows Australia cannot be seen as a soft target for drug syndicates.

"The volume of the seizure indicates that the international syndicates saw Australia as a potentially fertile market," he said.

"We hope that impression has well and truly been smashed."

One of the men arrested was a north-east Tasmanian man who appeared in court this morning.

Federal prosecutors are asking for an extradition order to move the 50-year-old Pipers Brook man interstate.

ABC News
 
Wow... 15 million bikkies. Surely that's got to put some kind of dent in the supply of pills to Australia. If we're munching 100,000 a week that's three years worth of pills for the whole of Australia 8o
 
Holy shit that is a lot of pills I couldn't imagine having that many in possession well nearly anyways...
 
Wonder what these are...!

Disappointing if they were really good pills, and a lot of them!
 
close up of some of the pills (on 7 news)
showed hearts in a light reddish color
 
This makes me want to cry. I wonder what will happen to these little pills of love? Perhaps some will be destroyed, some will be redistributed?

I could probably retire with 100-200 of those tins...
 
Well, if it created a shortage it created it a year ago. By then you would think many more containers have found there way here.

I like to think that for every bust they make at least five loads get through, though the real number is probably more. Otherwise we can expect more rubbish dirty products coming our way.
 
You say Tomato, I say Ecstacy

:D

Mash some tinned tomatoes with rosemary and basil, until it is a semi liquid paste.

Apply paste to warmed Pizza base...
 
id say those pills would of been crushed up and and mixed with speed or meth and turned into inferior pills to make the dealers more bucks
 
they showed close up of the pills on abc news and they were white crowns/rolex's.
 
There was a quote in the news blurb on News.com.au... "almost one pill for every Australian".

Think about that for a second. :)
 
No!!! God why have you forsaken me!

As long as they aren't good pills, but still, cuts me deep inside to hear about this sorta thing.
 
burnaa said:
id say those pills would of been crushed up and and mixed with speed or meth and turned into inferior pills to make the dealers more bucks


Nope ... if that was the case then it would have been 100% pure powder with nothing else like binders & so on.

these were made as is & I would assume these would have been very high mdma & it's a damn shame they didn't get through ... well maybe 100 tins weren't accounted for and they end up on the street still ... well lets hope ;)
 
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