It was an old-fashioned police blitz
16 raids on homes businesses — and even a moving car — all targeting a transnational criminal network
accused of moving meth from California and cocaine from Germany to one of the world's hottest drug
markets. With a little help, police say, from an employee of DHL, the logistics and courier giant
The Mob Reporter here with news of another large-scale police operation
trying to take down an organized crime network in Australia; an operation bringing seven arrests
of a multinational cast of characters and the seizure of drugs, gold, and lots and lots of cash
Come on, this is like money porn. Let me tell you about it
The early morning raids in and around Sydney suburbs on November 23, 2022, weren't quiet
affairs. They rarely are. Police were waiting to trigger the raids for this: the controlled
delivery of cocaine sent from Germany to Sydney. This was the culmination of their probe
On a main road through Bankstown, beanbag bullets were used to smash the side and rear windows of
a Cruze sedan before police pulled 28-year-old Haniteli Hui, a passenger inside, onto the ground
Wearing a high visibility vest he looks like he's on his way to work. In the car, police say, were
these bricks. They were supposed to be 20 kilos of cocaine. You'll see some of the bricks are labeled
with a brain-hand grenade logo. I guess it's supposed to blow your mind — but the biggest mind
trick here probably came for the smuggler because it was no longer real cocaine, having been replaced
earlier by investigators for the delivery to be made under the watchful eye of police
As for the rest of the raids, for a bunch of alleged gangsters and narcos, these guys seem
pretty cooperative, unless there were compliance issues sorted out before the camera started
rolling. In the leafy streets of small town Picton ("Police! Search warrant! Open the door!) the arrest
of 33-year-old Enzo Guarinoni came when a mother and baby were also in the home
which must have been alarming for everyone
For some reason Guarinoni was allowed to change out of one
Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt, a black one, and into another
41-year-old James Daniel was picked up by police while he was picking up his laundry. Frankly, the
dry cleaner seems more worried than he does. He seems to give police permission to enter his truck
and take his phone, which appears —unless I heard it wrong — to not be locked and password protected
In an apartment building in another part of Sydney
police met this guy during a raid. He seems to be a biker, given his highly visible one
percent tattoo, which is the unifying symbol for members of outlaw motorcycle clubs, along
with a nice looking wristwatch. But nothing was said about what club he may be part of
During this raid in Earlwood, it was a one-hit smash that got police through this door
It seemed empty at first but apparently wasn't because 38 year old Nam Duc Nguyen-Le
was arrested inside. There were other arrests: two more in Australia and one in the United States
It was in Los Angeles, where American authorities were tipped off by Australian police and arrested
a 23-year-old man. When They seized meth, MDMA crystals and cocaine, which was destined for
Australia. This here is the U.S seizure. Police also found 60 kilos of cocaine at a Sydney
freight depot hidden inside machinery which police believe was sourced in Germany. It's
likely this shipment was connected to the 38-year-old arrested who worked at DHL. He
is accused of abusing his position to monitor consignments arriving at Port Botany with hidden
extras inside. Police described him as the ring's trusted Insider and said the company assisted and
cooperated with their investigation. I've asked DHL about this but have not heard back
All told police say 300 kilos of meth and coke were seized in the raids, some gold bullion, a gun
ammunition, cryptocurrency wallets, encrypted electronic devices, and more than 2.5 million
dollars in cash. Police gave the retail street value of all of the drugs seized throughout the
operation at 300 million Australian dollars. Much of that came in colorful Australian currency. They
make real pretty pictures. Here's the money shot. Investigators working the probe found that several
distinct transnational organized crime networks — which might otherwise be seen as rivals were
collaborating to import a variety of drugs from several different countries. Those arrested have
names with Anglo, Italian, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Chinese roots. Ultimately, distribution is believed
to have primarily been by two Middle Eastern crime families. Perhaps Australia's crime groups
are learning that bloodshed is bad for business. The probe was under the umbrella of Operation
Phobetor, a multi-agency Australian task force tackling the growing presence of transnational
criminal organizations in Australia. Operation Phobetor's first-known arrest was one year and
one day before these raids were launched. In that case, police arrested a man after finding this:
1,100 litres of a precursor chemical that's needed to make crystal meth
Phobetor investigators have had several successes in between
Police say their probe continues and other suspects are still at large, living abroad
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