MONEY LAUNDRIES STILL OPEN

THE National Crime Authority has not closed any WA businesses suspected of
laundering drug money, despite conceding some stores are fronts for WA's
heroin trade.

The authority's admission yesterday coincided with a revelation by WA
police that they had cracked entrenched Asian and eastern European heroin
syndicates which had been operating in WA.

NCA national director Nick Anticich said investigations in the past year
revealed that some Asian businesses, which worked on a cash basis, were
probably fronts for the heroin trade.

"Our investigations during the reporting period and our intelligence,
concrete findings and matters before the courts indicate that this is the
case," he said.

"Our priority is looking into heroin trafficking. That is the number one
priority. The heroin that comes to Australia comes from South-East Asia.
And really that is probably the primary determining factor, I would say, in
why it is we have a preponderance of Asian offenders."

Besides heroin traffickers, the NCA targets other established crime
networks, including bikie gangs and Italian-Australian organised crime
syndicates.

Mr Anticich said it was inappropriate to talk about how many businesses the
NCA were investigating for money laundering.

"What we are about is (tackling) complex national organised crime," he
said. "Organised crime by its very nature generates profits and generally
with that is a money-laundering process."

Mr Anticich said it was extremely difficult to follow the drug money trail
and even harder to convict money launderers.

Fortunately, WA launderers were not using electronic methods of shifting
money as readily as criminals in other jurisdictions.

"It is being seen in the international scene," Mr Anticich said.

The WA Police Service's organised crime unit yesterday displayed 5.6kg of
heroin which it seized during Operations Whitehead and Uncut. The heroin
was estimated to be between 50 per cent and 70 per cent pure.

Det-Supt Fred Gere claimed the heroin had come into New South Wales,
probably from South-East Asia.

Asian and eastern European crime gangs transported the drugs to WA where
police intercepted the drug and arrested the couriers between last July and
December.

Five people from the eastern States and six people from WA were charged
with possessing heroin with intent to sell or supply or attempting to
possess heroin with the intent to sell or supply.