~Wolf From Atlanta~
[OZ] NT fishermen in drug ring
Fri Aug 6, 2004 12:29pm
209.86.130.35

NT fishermen in drug ring
August 7, 2004

A syndicate of Territory fishermen is being investigated by police for heroin smuggling.

The syndicate has links to Vietnamese crime gangs in Sydney, senior police have told the Northern Territory News.

Police sources said they had been monitoring the activities of the syndicate for the past few years. One senior officer said police had a list of NT-based people they believed to be involved.

The officer said most of the criminals allegedly involved in the highly organised smuggling operation were fishermen.

"They have the contacts and they have the resources," the officer said.

One major crime detective told the Northern Territory News that some of those allegedly involved had "retired" to the Gold Coast where they had bought multi-million dollar houses.

Police said the syndicate was responsible for smuggling a range of "hard drugs" into the Territory -- including heroin.

The syndicate is believed to use fishing boats to meet ships inbound from Asia and collect drugs from them before they pass through Australia Customs.

They are also believed to use the same method to meet and pass drugs between a network of fishing vessels around the Australian coast.

Some of the syndicate are also believed responsible for smuggling cannabis into remote Aboriginal communities around the Territory coast.

The Northern Territory News has learned the activities of the syndicate were brought to police attention during a drug war between the Hells Angels and the syndicate.

The dispute led to a violent street battle between the rivals in the Darwin suburb of Karama about two years ago.

It culminated in a member of a Sydney gang visiting the Darwin home of a Hells Angel heavyweight.

The gang member is believed to have warned the bikie against further violence against syndicate members.

Territory police said the feud between the two gangs died down after that visit.

Northern Territory News