Minister for Police and Emergency Services Michael Gallacher today joined Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and NSW Crime Commissioner, Peter Hastings QC to officially launch the new Organised Crime Squad.

“The new squad brings about a greatly enhanced working relationship between NSW Police and the Crime Commission,” Minister Gallacher said.

“This new squad targeting the most serious organised criminals will comprise 100 staff working out of the NSW Crime Commission offices,” Minister Gallacher said.

“The new Organised Crime Squad involves the merger of the Asian Crime Squad, the Organised Crime Targeting Squad and the Casino and Racing Investigation Unit.

“Organised Crime is changing and this new squad has been developed to ensure our best crime fighting resources are used to meet these challenges.

NSW Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, said the Organised Crime Squad will embrace the work done by previous investigative teams into one unified effort.

“Just as the marketplace for legitimate business has opened up, so too has the black market.

“Those at the top of the organised crime industry are no longer working in silos along ethnic or geographic lines; they are working across borders and interconnecting with numerous networks of criminals.

“As a result, we have taken the squads and specialised units that were most suited to major organised crime investigation and combined them into one, centralised squad,” Mr Scipione said.

NSW Crime Commissioner, Mr Peter Hastings said this will provide a major resource for concentrating the attack upon serious criminal organisations.

“As organised crime groups are showing more sophistication and expertise, this new squad will be dedicated to fighting crime on the same level.

“The investigations of the new Organised Crime Squad will also complement the work of the Crime Commission in disrupting the activities of criminals by confiscating their assets.

“The new Squad will also contain a dedicated money laundering investigation team which will work with specialist analysts from the Crime Commission to target the proceeds of crime,” Mr Hastings said.