The Australian Crime Commission has today unveiled a year-long covert money laundering investigation codenamed Eligo following a record $5.7 million cash seizure in Sydney at the weekend (Saturday, 18 January 2014).
The Eligo National Task Force, established in 2012 as an Australian Crime Commission-led special investigation into the use of alternative remittance and informal value transfer systems by serious and organised crime, has seized more than $580 million worth of drugs and assets, including $26 million in cash.
The task force has also disrupted 18 serious and organised crime groups and identified 128 criminal targets previously unknown to law enforcement. These criminal targets have been placed on the Australian Crime Commission’s National Criminal Target List, and include targets operating in more than 20 countries.
Australian Crime Commission acting Chief Executive Officer, Paul Jevtovic, said the task force was using criminal intelligence insights, including that of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, to disrupt illicit international money flows, and to ‘harden’ the alternative remittance sector against serious and organised crime…
…The Eligo National Task Force has led to:
- the seizure of more than $26 million cash, including a record $5.7 million singlecash seizure in Sydney at the weekend (Saturday, 18 January 2014)
- the seizure of illicit drugs with a combined estimated street value of more than$530 million
- the restraint of more than $30 million worth of assets
- the disruption of 18 serious and organised criminal groups/networks
- the identification of more than 128 targets previously unknown to law enforcement
- the arrests of 105 people on 190 charges
- the closing down of three commercial amphetamine laboratories, including one ofthe largest and most sophisticated clandestine laboratory ever discovered by Victoria Policein Sunshine, Victoria (October 2012)
- the closing down of one of the largest urban hydroponic cannabis grow houses everdiscovered by the NSW Police Force in Port Botany, New South Wales (November 2013)
- Western Australia’s $20 million seizure (cash, drugs, and assets) last week(Thursday, 16 January) by WA Police.
Link to Australia Federal Police press release: click here