“The shootings are becoming more frequent, the plots more organised and the money behind them much bigger. Australian police say criminal networks are borrowing tactics once associated with Latin American cartels.”
Australia has long prided itself on avoiding the kind of cartel violence seen in countries such as Mexico and Colombia. But after a series of contract killings, public shootings and failed assassination plots, police now believe organised crime in the country is entering a far more dangerous phase.
The latest concern follows the killing of a suspected underworld figure, one of several attacks linked to an escalating battle over Australia’s booming cocaine trade. Investigators say rival criminal groups are no longer settling scores quietly. Instead, they are increasingly willing to carry out shootings in public places, despite the obvious risk to innocent people.
Police say the country’s drug market has become one of the most profitable in the world because cocaine sells for far higher prices in Australia than in many other countries. That enormous profit has attracted international criminal groups, while also giving local gangs access to more money, more weapons, and more sophisticated networks.
“This is no longer organised crime. It’s disorganised crime,” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook told Australia’s ABC, describing how today’s violence is often driven by inexperienced offenders taking on contract killings for surprisingly small amounts of money. He added: “The more violence you see, the less organised the organised crime is.”
Investigators say the people carrying out attacks are often young recruits with little criminal history, hired through so-called “violence brokers” who connect overseas crime bosses with local offenders. Some murder contracts, police say, have been negotiated down to just a few thousand Australian dollars, making deadly violence easier to commission than ever before.
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Authorities are also seeing stronger links between Australian gangs and overseas trafficking organisations. Those relationships are helping move larger quantities of cocaine into the country while fuelling bitter competition over distribution.
Only days ago, the Australian Federal Police announced the country’s largest-ever cocaine seizure, uncovering 2.7 tonnes of the drug hidden in underground bunkers on the outskirts of Sydney. Police believe the shipment had been brought into Australia by an organised crime syndicate and would have been worth more than A$800 million on the streets. “We will work with our international and domestic law enforcement partners to identify the criminal syndicates,” Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said after the operation.
Despite the growing violence, police insist Australia is not facing the same situation as countries where cartels openly challenge the state. Strong gun laws, coordinated policing, and tougher border enforcement continue to limit the reach of organised crime.
Even so, investigators admit the threat is changing.
The concern is no longer just about drug trafficking. It is about the willingness of criminal groups to order killings in suburban streets, use encrypted communications to avoid detection, and recruit almost anyone prepared to pull the trigger.
For the police, that shift is what makes this moment different. The money flowing through Australia’s cocaine market is getting bigger, the networks are becoming more international, and the violence is becoming harder to predict. That combination, they warn, is changing the country’s underworld in ways that would have been difficult to imagine just a few years ago.
Promise Idoko is a tech analyst and writer at Moderncrux, specializing in artificial intelligence, fintech, and emerging technologies. Based in Nigeria, he is dedicated to delivering insightful and accessible coverage of complex technological developments. His work explores the impact of innovation on businesses, industries, and societies, with a particular focus on Africa’s evolving technology landscape and its connection to global trends.
