NSW SWAMPED BY DIRTY BILLIONS

About $3.5 billion of "hot" cash is generated annually by white
collar fraud and money laundering by the drug trade, according to a
NSW Police Service report.

In the first annual report ever released on the work of its top 550
police detectives, NSW Crime Agencies has predicted that drug
trafficking by gangs of Middle Eastern origin will be among the main
criminal activities to cause "increasing economic and social harms"
to the State's population in 2001.

The report by Crime Agencies - which in the year 1999-2000 dismantled
more than 15 organised crime groups and made 1,284 arrests - says the
major source of illegal funds in Australia is fraud, followed by
drugs. The report says that "virtually nothing else matters" by
comparison.

The report has been seen by Police Minister Paul Whelan and Police
Commissioner Peter Ryan, but has yet to be officially released to the
public.

It details NSW's major crime threats, and states that:

Gangs with members of Middle Eastern origin, operating in
south-western Sydney and Kings Cross, are violent and smuggle weapons
in from overseas.

Malaysian-based crime groups specialising in international credit
card fraud have infiltrated Australia. One gang alone is said to have
ripped off $100million worldwide.

Laundered funds are invested offshore or forwarded to overseas PILL
FROM PAGE 10 tax havens where they are accessed by Australian-based
criminals.

Other overseas gangs are entering Australia for short periods to
commit credit card fraud and large robberies, after which goods are
shipped from the country.

An Asian group is operating large scale prostitution rackets in NSW,
generating $75 million a year.

Security technology employed by banks, government and the military is
being blown by organised crime groups increasing their scope of
activity.

The State's 200 annual murders and attempted murders are becoming
more complex, involving drugs, organised crime and, increasingly,
guns.

The report records an increase in arrests by NSW police for murder,
major crime and child abuse. It says there was also a major increase
in drug seizures, while four major taskforces confiscated 700
firearms and illegal parts.

Of the heroin trade, the report states bluntly: "NSW is the drug
capital of Australia. Cabramatta is the drug capital of NSW."

The author of the report is Assistant Commissioner Clive Small, the
former commander of Crime Agencies who was removed from his elite
position just before Christmas by NSW Police Commissioner Peter Ryan.

Mr Small was appointed head of Crime Agencies, which encompasses
specialist squads that cover homicide, drugs, organised crime, fraud,
armed robbery and extortion, at its inception three years ago.

Commissioner Ryan has transferred Mr Small to Sydney's south-west to
act as commander of the Greater Hume Region, which includes
Cabramatta, Punchbowl and Lakemba.

In a personal preface to the report written last September, Mr Small
says police have performed their duties $1.38 million below budget,
with improved work practices.

"I believe that we are on track to achieving part of the
Commissioner's vision - to be recognised as a world class police
service providing excellent service to the community," he says.

"[But] the solid performance of Crime Agencies ... does not diminish
the many challenges we face.

"When your core business is as important as preventing and
investigating major crime and locking up criminals it can be tempting
to overlook the big picture."

He says NSW police can make a contribution to "the moral well being
of the community".

"I am referring to the rights of life, freedom, fairness, justice,
safety, honesty, respect for human dignity and the pursuit of a
better society," he writes.

The report says that Australians - and NSW residents in particular -
are no longer protected by the country's geographic isolation. Mr
Small says Australia is being targeted by overseas syndicates in
hit-and-run crime ventures.

The Crime Agencies document is the first individual annual report to
be released by a division of a NSW Government department.

Mr Small says Crime Agencies needs "to embrace a role that is less
about power and more about the practical application of core values
such as trust, respect, responsibility and self-regulation".

In what might be construed as a reference to Commissioner Ryan's
emphasis on officer training, he says: "There is something more to
professionalism than qualifications alone. That 'something else' is
predominantly attitude.

"Perhaps our greatest challenge is entrenching this attitude with
Crime Agencies and ensuring its survival extends beyond the
individuals that currently work within the command."

He said he hoped the report would "become an annual event and a
service-wide trend", although sources say this is unlikely given Mr
Ryan's aversion to publicity and Mr Small's transfer. He takes
command at Greater Hume tomorrow.

The new Crime Agencies commander is Graeme Morgan.