8: Syndicate

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MISSION BRIEFING FOR GEORGE KNIGHT

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Organised Crime in Australia

Like all countries, Australia struggles with the problem of organised crime, but problems in Australia are, in some ways, more acute. Geographical proximity to drug-producing areas and other countries with major organised crime problems is one factor, as well as the relative difficulty of policing more than twenty thousand miles of coastline. Problems include drug trafficking, human trafficking, financial crime, extortion, protection rackets and even political corruption. Australian authorities have been working to eradicate these problems since the 1980s, but the balance of power can be precarious and as soon as one group is eliminated, another springs up.

Melbourne, the organised crime 'capital' of Australia

With more than four million people, Melbourne is consistently ranked among the best cities in the world, but beneath the surface is the highest rate of organised crime in Australia. The Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and Victoria Police are constantly working to infiltrate and stop these organisations, with the cooperation of local citizens. However, the high living standards in Melbourne can contribute to the problem, with criminals attracted by the wealth and the potential for corruption and financial crime amongst the city's most well-off. A number of attempts have been made to crack down on organised crime in Melbourne, and major reductions have been made since the mid-1980s, but the problem has not gone away.

Infiltrating Organised Gangs

One of the key difficulties of infiltrating the kinds of gangs that operate in Melbourne is their general distrust of new members and the fact that any undercover agent who is exposed is likely to be subject to violent retribution or possibly even death. As such, ASIS have been working to find a way to infiltrate these gangs without subjecting their agents to unwelcome risks. Using informants has been successful in the past, but they can often be unreliable and the majority of members at the core of the gangs are unwilling to take any risks on behalf of the police and ASIS. Getting information about those at the very top of the organisations is the most important thing when it comes to dismantling these gangs.

The Melbourne Power Vacuum

Recently, a series of bitter inter-gang feuds have led to an increase in the number of gangland murders, culminating in the assassination of two major players in Melbourne's drugs trade. ASIS believe that these two men were responsible for running one of Melbourne's major gangs, and since their death, the trade has been available for other gangs to take over. This period of major change is the perfect time to gather information on any gangs trying to move in. It is therefore important that the ASIS mission goes ahead as soon as possible, to take advantage of this.

The Syndicate

One of the gangs believed to be capitalising on the situation is named the Syndicate. Unlike many conventional organised crime gangs, the Syndicate does not have a street presence and has not been known to engage in territorial feuds, and evidence suggests that until now, it has focused its activities on financial crime. The fact that it appears to be moving into the drugs trade is a development that has taken ASIS by surprise, and it is important to find out why they have done this. However, the lack of a street presence makes it very difficult to infiltrate and the group is notorious for meticulously checking the backgrounds of everyone associated with them, to prevent undercover police officers or journalists from gathering information, and are suspected to be behind a number of brutal murders of former members who have threatened to go to the police. As such, ASIS is anxious that they do not get a grip on Melbourne's drugs trade in any permanent capacity.

Zachary Kurjak

Zachary Kurjak was born in Melbourne in 1974 and appeared to have a relatively normal upbringing in an affluent suburb. Displaying an apparent talent for economics, he studied it at the University of Melbourne and graduated with a high overall score. Subsequent years of his life are unknown, although it appears that he spent some years working for a merchant bank. Whether or not he founded The Syndicate is unclear, but what is certain is that by the mid-2000s, the Syndicate was the go-to place for money laundering, fraud and protection in north-west Melbourne with Zachary at its head. In the years since then, he has consolidated his position and now has estimated assets in excess of AU$50 million (£27 million), and the Syndicate has moved into a number of other illegal trades and has influence throughout the city.

Riley Kurjak

In 1999, Zachary married a local waitress named Maria Fields, and in early 2000 she gave birth to a son, Riley Kurjak. Due to his father's criminal lifestyle, Riley spent his early years in the care of his mother. He was not enrolled in any schools until the age of eight, and then he was considered a misfit. Zachary's solution was to send Riley to a prestigious school in central Melbourne called Melbourne Academy. It claims to be the best fee-paying school in Melbourne, but Riley is a persistent troublemaker and does not fit in. The school cannot expel him due to his father's wealth and influence, but he has been suspended for various periods. It is clear that Riley is not happy with his school or his home life, a fact which ASIS plans to exploit.

Pete Grahams and ASIS

In late 2008, Pete Grahams moved from a post working for the Australian civil service to a desk job at ASIS. His first major assignment was to design an undercover mission to infiltrate the Syndicate. This was finally achieved in early 2011 when the suggestion of using CHERUB was made, and Pete has since moved to CHERUB for a full time Mission Controller role, specialising in ASIS-CHERUB relations. CHERUB approved the idea of a mission in Melbourne, despite the fact that infiltrating the Syndicate has little direct impact for the British government.

The Mission and CHERUB's Role

Two agents will be sent undercover in Australia. The younger, aged between eleven and thirteen, will attempt to befriend Riley at Melbourne Academy to gain access to his family home, where he lives with his mother and father. The agent can then gather information about his business dealings and associates, with the design of eventually arresting and imprisoning Zachary. The older agent, aged between sixteen and eighteen, will pose as a school-leaver without a job. It is thought that, with some gentle persuasion, they can get into a position in the centre of all the gangs in Melbourne, gathering general information on criminal figures and, if necessary, assisting the Syndicate in order to infiltrate it. It is thought that the Syndicate is unlikely to impose a harsh background check on a young person, especially with a well-fabricated background designed by ASIS and CHERUB. It is well-known that female figures in organised crime are the best information carriers and this agent is likely to be told a great deal of useful information.

Alice Blythe

The key link in the mission is a woman named Alice Blythe. Born in 1980 in Sydney, she studied economics and business at the California Institute of Technology in the US before moving back to Australia. She works for one of Australia's major banks at their Melbourne office, and has a distinguished career. However, in late 2010, an ASIS investigation found her at the heart of a money laundering operation with links to the Syndicate. In July 2011 they had gathered enough evidence and ASIS moved in. To avoid a prison term and the loss of her career, she has agreed to live with two CHERUB agents posing as her recently-deceased sister's children. (In reality, her niece and nephew live with their father in Oxfordshire.) It is thought that this will be sufficient to convince the Syndicate of the agents' legitimacy, since Alice is as rock-solid as they come in the organisation. Should Alice break the terms of the agreement and betray the agents, she will be charged with various financial offences and imprisoned, and this is thought to be sufficient to prevent this from occurring.

Goals of the Mission

The overall goals of the mission are to gather sufficient evidence to charge Zachary Kurjak with various offences and imprison him, as well as many of his associates, cutting down on organised crime in Melbourne and facilitating the collapse of the Syndicate. As well as this, secondary goals include gathering information about other organised gangs in Melbourne and, if possible, imprisoning any key members of those gangs.

THE ETHICS COMMITTEE ACCEPTED THIS MISSION ON A 7-6 VOTE BUT REQUEST THAT AGENTS CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

(1) This mission has been classified as HIGH RISK. Exposure to dangerous drugs is highly likely, so agents are reminded that knowingly taking any Class A drugs will result in their immediate expulsion from CHERUB. Agents would be operating independently of CHERUB control and reporting directly to ASIS, which may make it difficult for CHERUB to provide support in an emergency situation.

(2) Alice Blythe will not be informed about the existence of CHERUB and will be under the impression that the agents are merely the children of officials at the British consulate general in Sydney. This means that there is a small but significant chance of the existence of CHERUB being revealed to an external person. Agent must take utmost care not to carelessly reveal any details.

George put the briefing down, unable to keep a smile off his face of the idea of taking on a high risk mission in sunny Australia.

"What do you think?" Pete asked, looking slightly nervous. "This is the first time I've actually spoken to an undercover agent about it."

"Looks good to me," George grinned. "You'd have to ask Katie, though, she's the one with experience."

Pete nodded. "Well, any questions, let me know. I really hope that your lot can get Katie out of her mission suspension or whatever you call it, because looking at her file, she's literally perfect for this. Why was she suspended in the first place? John said something about a training mission."

"Isn't it in her file?" George asked.

"I've only got an old version from about four months ago when I originally requested it. Your files are so top-secret that not even the Australian Prime Minister is allowed to see them, you know."

George smirked. "Well, we are pretty important people. Anyway, Katie snapped when some guy busted up her leg and she broke both his legs and unloaded a gun full of simulated ammunition into him at point-blank range."

"Ah. I suppose she pretty much deserves what she's got then," Pete said, shaking his head. "According to her file, she's always done a fantastic job on missions in Australia."

George shrugged. "No idea what happened to her."

"Anyway, if we can get her free again, the mission will start in September. The seasons are different Down Under, so we'll be going into our summer," Pete said. "Can't wait to get away from all this rain."

"If you don't mind my asking, why are you so set on bringing down Zachary? I mean, sure, he's a bad guy, but the mission really seems to be gunning for him," George said, flicking through again. "He can't be reponsible for the whole show."

Pete laughed. "You got me there. Zachary was in my graduating class at university and he was a complete bastard. I'd love to see him behind bars."

George shook his head. "Isn't it supposed to be about national security?" he grinned.

"Well, there's that too. But mostly I just hate his guts, and the fact that he's a major criminal is a bonus."