Police have dismantled what they say is the Australian operation of the so-called Coconut Cartel, a gang locked in a months-long feud with the Alameddine crime family over control of Sydney’s illicit drug market, after seizing almost 400 kilograms of methamphetamine and arresting its alleged onshore leader.
Detectives on Wednesday executed the final stage of Strike Force Golporta, one of NSW Police’s largest organised crime-related operations which spanned several active investigations and involved hundreds of detectives from the organised crime, homicide, financial crimes, drug and firearms and the robbery and serious crime squads.
The strike force, established to target Henry Kupa, the Coconut Cartel’s alleged onshore leader, culminated with the arrest of several alleged cartel associates police say have helped the group import large amounts of illicit drugs into Australia.
Detectives allege Kupa, 27, has facilitated several large-scale drug importations for the self-proclaimed Coconut Cartel under the direction of fugitive gang leader Anthony Pele. Pele remains wanted by police on several outstanding warrants and is believed to have been orchestrating the cartel’s operations and its conflict with the Alameddine family from abroad.
Lorenzo Lemalu, one of the cartel’s senior members, was shot dead outside a Ho Chi Minh City restaurant last week. Vietnamese police investigating the assassination arrested two Samoan men, Joseph Vaa and Steve Tofa, who told authorities they had been hired by an overseas employer to ambush Lemalu and his associate Sam Sauni, who survived the attack.
The Coconut Cartel, comprising former Alameddine network members and allies, in January publicly declared war on the notorious Merrylands family.
Police say the months-long investigation, led by the organised crime squad, has helped them infiltrate the Coconut Cartel and prevent several planned violent incidents, including kidnapping and shootings.
“We have been able to arrest not just the onshore principals, and the onshore coordinators, but also many of the contract criminals and facilitators that are supporting this organised crime network in NSW,” Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook alleged.
“The ability for us to infiltrate that network and that sequence of events has been very important for us and has helped us suppress the violence.”
Detectives in April arrested Kupa after seizing 390 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in buckets at an Emu Plains property and believed to have been imported by the Coconut Cartel. Kupa was charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, procuring a minor to supply a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, and participating in a criminal group. A 15-year-old alleged to be working for the cartel, and arrested at the Emu Plains property, was charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.
Alleged cartel associates arrested on Wednesday and Thursday said to be working under Kupa’s direction have been charged with serious drug supply offences.
Detectives working under Strike Force Golporta have also identified several overseas-based Australian organised crime figures involved in the ongoing conflict and large-scale drug importations.
“Organised crime in NSW is now completely global,” Cook said, adding that NSW Police was working with the Australian Federal Police and international law enforcement agencies to apprehend and extradite high-value targets abroad.
“Those people hiding in other countries, and who are complicit in causing the violence in NSW, we know who you are, we know where you are, and we are working together with our Australian and international law enforcement partners to hunt you down.”
Detectives hope the intelligence gleaned through Strike Force Golporta will keep them on a level playing field with the changing organised crime landscape.
“For a long time, we’ve been playing catch up. For the first time, we think we’re on par,” Cook said.
Several people have been previously charged under active investigations, intelligence from which has formed the backbone of Strike Force Golporta.
Police are bracing for retaliation arising from the dismantling of the Coconut Cartel and the emergence of individuals looking to replace key players now in custody.
“We’re slightly ahead of the game, and we’re hoping that because of what we now know out of this investigation, we can to prevent violence occurring here,” Cook said.
“We think that this operation has given us enough intelligence and understanding of the environment to continue to suppress violence as much as possible.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
