Sydney’s Unseen Wave of Crime: Asian Organized Violence Unraveled

In the middle of last year, an undercurrent of violence was bubbling within the Sydney suburbs of Canley Vale, Cabramatta, and Bankstown. The turbulence was noted by a significant uptick in various criminal activities, such as firebombings, abductions, shootings, residential break-ins, and even meth lab blasts. Unlike the showy display usually associated with Middle Eastern crime outfits, this violence lacked the flair of luxury cars and public figures. The lack of inaccurate gunfire by untrained or juvenile hitmen led investigators to the conclusion that these were not acts of gang-on-gang violence but rather a form of internal regulation among the city’s covert Asian criminal organizations.

However, three brutal incidents have pushed the largely concealed Vietnamese criminal associations into the public view. An individual was shot in the skull and buried while still breathing, a parent was found deceased in the wilderness after going missing a month prior, and a woman was kidnapped in broad daylight in front of her offspring and later killed. These organizations are generally discreet about their activities, differing from other criminal factions in the city. You won’t often see the members flaunting fancy cars while not holding any official jobs; instead, they opt for regular rides like old Toyota Camrys or work vehicles.

After 37 serious instances of criminal activity, a comprehensive initiative known as Taskforce Lupin was enacted. The taskforce comprised detective specializing in organized crime, local law enforcement, analysts, and armed officers. This team began their covert operations in July of the preceding year, lacking the publicity usually accompanying similar initiatives aiming at Middle Eastern crime rings.

Taskforce Lupin remained undetected while it successfully located its 37 key persons of interest, securing more than 120 charges before anyone was aware of its existence. In their operations, law enforcement officials confiscated drugs with an estimated street value of 10 million dollars, one million dollars in physical cash, encrypted communication devices, firearms, and roughly 50,000 units of contraband tobacco products.

Although the taskforce was officially disbanded in December, some members remain, keeping tabs on the criminal organizations and providing assistance to the homicide team. One particular case involved a victim who had been showing increasing signs of erratic behavior before mysteriously disappearing in July 2024. He was not seen again after this.

After an extensive investigation, detectives from the Lupin taskforce deduced that the missing man had been made to disappear by his employers, a drug ring based out of Melbourne. Their suspicion was validated a month subsequent to his disappearance when his body was found. Upon further inspection, the medical examiner found his right ear had been cut off.

The homicide team hypothesizes that this man’s death was the third in a string of ruthless purges by the drug group from Melbourne, all occurring within less than a week. The crime ring is also believed to have abducted a 31-year-old male in Auburn, mutilating a part of his ear in a residence in Canley Vale. Despite surviving his ordeal, the man is so traumatized he has not yet made an official statement.

The crime organization is also suspected of a third incident involving the forced abduction of another man into a car. After being shot in the cranium and buried in a forest, the man managed to escape from his makeshift grave. Staggering into a nearby gas station, he sought help.

These organizations place a heavy emphasis on loyalty – showing a cultural influence in their operations. However, those who violate this trust face harsh punishment, often resorting to extreme violence. Their unity and loyalty make investigations difficult, as people affiliated with these groups typically don’t come forward with information, even if they themselves become targets.

This practice of brutal internal regulation carried on into 2025. In one instance, a woman from Sydney was taken from her home in the presence of her terrified children. Forced into a stolen vehicle, she was driven to Bankstown, where she was killed by a gunshot. Afterward, her body and the stolen vehicle were both set ablaze.

The victim was chosen due to her husband’s alleged activities. It is believed that her husband, suspected to be involved in illegal drug manufacturing, had been swindling his superiors. The group hypothetically behind the attack, thought to be from Victoria, functions as a separate criminal organization.

Vietnamese crime organizations once controlled the heroin market in Sydney during the 80s and the 90s. However, they have since reshaped their operations over the past two decades to concentrate more on the cultivation of cannabis in hydro houses and the production of methamphetamine. They have also been known to import experts in meth crystallization or money laundering.

An intriguing aspect of these Asian crime organizations is their reliance on trust within their ranks to carry out violent acts – a characteristic which sets them apart from other criminal organizations. They place their trust in skilled individuals, forgoing the common practice of other gangs using underage operatives to carry out violent tasks. This level of sophistication in their operations distinguishes them from ad-hoc gangs.

Another distinguishing aspect is the empowerment of females within Vietnamese gangs, often into positions of command. Despite many gangs operating within state borders or postcodes, Asian criminal organizations have a disregard for geographical constraints, given the nature of their operations extensively involving foreign imports of precursor chemicals for methamphetamine production.