糖心Vlog

In a recent media release, Australian Federal Police : "We have about 51 Italian organised crime clans in Australia. We have identified 14 confirmed 鈥榥drangheta clans across Australia, involving thousands of members."

The 鈥榥drangheta, widely considered Italy鈥檚 wealthiest and most powerful group, are connected with Calabria, a region in southern Italy. They have important international links with 鈥� and are sometimes in a superior position to 鈥� local groups, such as bikies.

A flurry of recent reporting and police comment on the 'ndrangheta may give the impression their activity in Australia is a relatively new phenomenon.

But in truth, the 鈥榥drangheta has been successfully planting seeds into Australian society for 100 years. It is integrated into Australian society; it鈥檚 not an alien guest or recent virus.

A long history

The recent AFP was celebrating first anniversary of 鈥渢he overt action taken under Operation Ironside, the biggest and most significant organised crime operation鈥� in AFP history.

鈥� otherwise known as operation or in the United States 鈥� involved a joint action between the FBI and the AFP that took place on June 8 last year.

According to the AFP , 鈥済lobally, excluding Australian statistics, more than 700 alleged offenders have been charged鈥�, thanks to Ironside. In Australia, it said, 383 alleged offenders have been charged with 2,340 offences.

The recent anniversary of this joint action led to a spike in media reports about the 鈥榥drangheta in Australia, with AFP Assistant Commissioner Nigel Ryan quoted as : "It鈥檚 entirely possible that people will be living next door to members of the 鈥榥drangheta without knowing."

I thought it was notable the AFP鈥檚 press release 51 Italian crime groups, of which only 14 are recognised 鈥榥drangheta clans; this begs the question of who are the remaining groups.

The AFP鈥檚 didn鈥檛 specify, and focused chiefly on the 鈥榥drangheta.

As someone who has researched the 鈥榥drangheta for a decade 鈥� and specifically the 鈥� I didn鈥檛 think there was much urgent or new in the recent 鈥渞evelations鈥� tied to the anniversary of the Ironside arrests.

The 鈥榥drangheta 鈥� also known as 鈥渢he honoured society鈥� 鈥� has operated in Australia in a structured way for at least .

The 鈥榥drangheta in Australia

The criminal organisation even has : December 18, 1922 when the ship King of Italy docked at the Western Australian port of Fremantle, then in Adelaide and then in Melbourne. It left in each of these ports one of the three founders of the 鈥榥drangheta.

The 鈥榥drangheta has capitalised on Calabrian/Italian to Australia to grow and entrench its power in .

Australian institutions were quicker than their Italian counterparts to of the 鈥榥drangheta between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s. At this time, Italian authorities were largely focused on the more famous Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia.

Australia鈥檚 approach to countering tends to swing between or . As investigative reporter Nick McKenzie, put it: "The history of the AFP鈥檚 policing of Italian organised crime in this country is marked by widely spruiked success, rarely mentioned failure and extended periods of malaise."

As his , in the past 20 years alone Australian law enforcement has produced maps of 鈥榥drangheta families and confidential reports about its members and activities.

Drugs, political infiltration and power

Much media and police focus has been on 鈥榥drangheta and the drug trade (Operation Ironside is, so far, no exception).

Yes, the drug trade is fundamental to 鈥榥drangheta wealth and power in Australia and has been for .

However, as outlined in my recent book, and by investigative , there is a world of political infiltration, too. Legal businesses have been born on the back of proceeds of crime, and powerful men who have a say in the Calabrian/Italian community.

This is less talked out, partly due to fear and intimidation but also due to consensus, friendships, and .

The 鈥榥drangheta is deeply integrated into Australian society; it is a phenomenon with .

As such, it needs a strategy that does not stop at countering drugs importation but considers, for example, the social impact of this mafia on society and the .

When it comes to the 鈥榥drangheta in Australia, the combined knowledge of the AFP, the NSW police and the Victorian police is unparalleled. Much of this knowledge is, of course, left out of official statements. These statements have arguably one good effect: they raise the level of attention yet again.

But any attempt to take the 鈥榥drangheta seriously requires sustained political will and resources. Swinging between a flurry of attention on the 鈥榥drangheta and collective forgetfulness of the issue does not help.

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