Police have arrested 15 people and seized numerous stolen motor vehicles and prohibited drugs during a coordinated week of action targeting members, associates, and facilitators of organised criminal networks (OCNs) in Sydney's south-west under Strike Force Hawk.
Strike Force Hawk commenced in October 2021 and has since led to the seizure of more than 80 firearms and 3300 rounds of ammunition, $2.9 million cash, and prohibited drugs with a combined estimated potential street value of about $9.1 million.
The operation was initially established to focus on the disruption of organised crime in South West Metropolitan (SWM) Region, however recently expand state-wide, resulting in the arrest of 105 people and more than 300 preferred charges by Police Area Commands and Districts across NSW in just three days.
SWM Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith, said Hawk returned to Sydney's south-west which saw police execute 52 Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO) searches in five days.
"The Hawk model is about using classified and declassified intelligence from a number of sources to disrupt the operational business of OCNs," Assistant Commissioner Smith said.
"It is the first time the organisation has sought to utilise general duty officers and criminal investigator staff in such a method outside of specialist units.
"This allows us to target and disrupt organised crime at the street, mid and upper-levels simultaneously within a specific OCN network or more broadly to prevent violent crime.
"Last week, we targeted the who's who of criminality in Sydney's south-west: Rebels, Finks and Lone Wolves OMCG – you'd be hard pressed to find someone in that world who didn't get a home visit," Assistant Commissioner Smith said.
During the operation – which ran daily between Monday 30 May and Friday 3 June 2022 – police seized around $150,000 cash, 1.5kg cannabis, 150 grams of methylamphetamine, numerous prohibited weapons, and three stolen motor vehicles.
Seven men were arrested after a clandestine laboratory was discovered and subsequently dismantled with the assistance of the Drug and Firearms Squad's Chemical Operations Unit about midnight on Friday.
In total, 15 men were charged over the course of the week.
The strike force continues to work closely with Raptor Squad, Taskforce Erebus and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) to disrupt serious crime in our communities.
Anyone with information about organised crime is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
