Fairfax Media and the Australian Broadcasting Company’s Four Corners conducted a year-long investigation of the Calabrian Mafia.
Investigative journalists secured top-secret police intelligence reports made between 2003 and 2014, which allegedly reveal the continuing power and influence of the Mafia across Australia. The two-part investigation concluded airing on Monday.
The collection of reports offer an eye opening account of how extensive the reach the Mafia allegedly has in the government, legal system and economy.
The police reports indicate that the Calabrian Mafia is a dangerous group, also known as the ‘Ndrangheta, or honored society, which makes money through its control of legal businesses and illegitimate businesses such as drug trafficking. The group reportedly has control of parts of Australia’s fresh food, construction and trucking industries.
The investigation said the Mafia controlled the judicial system with piles of money. Police reports allege that an Australian Mafia boss paid $2.2 million in bribes to New South Wales judges to get lighter prison sentences.
The current business holdings of all key Mafia bosses in NSW, Victoria and South Australia exposes their ongoing control over multimillion-dollar businesses, including a large winery and several large fruit orchards.
The reports claim that the prices of food in Australia may be higher due to Mafia control of the supply chain across the nation.
Fairfax Media also uncovered how Jupiters Casino in the Gold Coast has become a favored gambling site for Mafia associates. Queensland attracts underworld gamblers despite the state passing draconian “anti-association” laws in an effort to stop the activities of gangs who are suspected of using casinos for money laundering.
The confidential police reports said that both Labor and Liberal politicians had been lobbied by mafia-associated donors on issues of financial interest. According to a 2013 police report, as quoted by the BBC, the ‘Ndrangheta had worked with some well-known party donors to put a “legitimate public face” on its activities.
The investigation reported, that one instance of lobbying was aimed at obtaining a visa for a mafia boss who was later jailed for drug trafficking and implicated in a murder plot.
In response to the Fairfax/ABC investigation, organized crime prosecutor Nicola Gratteri warned that while police focus on terrorism, the grip of the Calabrian Mafia may become stronger.
