Violence brokers, teen hitmen and the new era of 'disorganised crime'

Sydney's organized crime landscape has devolved into a new era of "disorganized crime," marked by a surge in violence and a shift away from sophisticated, targeted attacks by trusted individuals. Senior police officials describe a chaotic environment where contract killings are now put out for bid on an open marketplace by "violence brokers," often operating on behalf of offshore entities. This new model frequently involves young people, some as young as 15, with no criminal history taking on murder contracts for significantly reduced sums.

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Those changes mean we're moving into an era of disorganised crime

Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook of the NSW Police highlighted this significant shift, stating that the increasing violence indicates less organization within the criminal underworld. He noted that incompetent individuals or those driven by ego and bravado are more likely to engage in violence. The current chaos is partly attributed to ongoing feuds between established networks, like the Alameddine crime group, and newer factions such as the "Coconut Cartel," a group whose name reportedly originates from a historical slur against Pasifika people.

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Generally, it's the incompetent ones or the ones that are driven by ego and bravado that end up progressing into violence.

Cook believes that breakaway groups are exploiting the weakened state of once-powerful organizations, which have been significantly diminished by police efforts. He suggested that the focus on these specific feuds overshadows other organized crime activities, indicating that the involved groups are failing. Police anticipate that neither the established nor the rival groups will survive as organized crime entities.

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The more violence you see, the less organised the organised crime is.

Meanwhile, international criminal organizations from Southeast Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific are reportedly capitalizing on Australia's lucrative drug market amidst this internal turmoil. While these local groups engage in tit-for-tat violence, overseas players are discreetly "making hay" from the opportunities presented by the instability within Sydney's crime scene.

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The fact that we only talk about them and don't talk about all the other organised crime groups is probably more indicative of the level of violence attributed, it's not because they're successful