17 May 2012
Taskforce Jericho, a multi-agency law enforcement agency taskforce to target organised crime in the cargo system in Brisbane, will begin on 1 July 2013.
Taskforce Jericho will be made up of Australian Federal Police, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Australian Crime Commission, Australian Tax Office and AUSTRAC.
The Federal Government has invested $5.6 million to expand the successful of Taskforce Polaris model to Melbourne and Brisbane.
Taskforce Polaris was established in July 2010 to investigate organised crime on the waterfront in Sydney. Taskforce Trident has also been established in Melbourne.
Taskforce Polaris is made up of 49 criminal investigators and intelligence analysts from the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the Australian Crime Commission, the NSW Police Force and the NSW Crime Commission.
Since July 2010 there have been 39 arrests, resulting in 190 charges as part of Taskforce Polaris.
“Organised crime is an insidious presence in Australia. It costs our economy over $15 billion a year. Serious organised crime groups target law enforcement, the private cargo industry and the cargo supply chain,” Mr Clare said.
“The expansion of Taskforce Polaris to Brisbane and Melbourne continues our commitment to crackdown on organised crime and undertake a major overhaul of security of the waterfront and the cargo supply chain.”
Taskforce Jericho will build on already the strong success of the Brisbane Container Examination Facility which has played a successful role in detecting illicit goods and disrupting criminal activities. In 2011-12 the facility had 162 successful detections.
In November 2012, Customs and Border Protection officers selected a container for examination at the CEF. The consignment was X-rayed and upon physical examination of the furniture false compartments were uncovered containing approximately 78 packages of white powdered substance which return a positive result for heroin.
After this detection a joint operation involving the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Customs and Border Protection Service resulted in three men being charged for allegedly attempting to import 58kgs of narcotics in Australia.
“The result of this operation reinforces the importance of intelligence sharing and cooperation in stopping illegal drugs from entering Australia,” Mr Clare said.
