Winner:            Strike Force Olympian, Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad, State Crime Command, NSW Police Force

Accepted by:   Detective Senior Constable Bryan MATTHES

Sponsored by: Insurance Australia Group (IAG)

Strike Force Olympian was formed in January 2007, as a result of sustained intelligence regarding the vehicle rebirthing activities of a number of members of the Middle Eastern Organised Crime community.

Intelligence was received regarding a syndicate that was intimately involved in the wrecking industry, as well as being responsible for organising and executing the theft and clinical stripping of motor vehicles. The syndicate was large, well established and professional, and were stealing vehicles predominantly from the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and dumping the clinically stripped wrecks in the south west of Sydney.

Strike Force Olympian was formed by the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOCS), the New South Wales Police Force. The Strike Force was commanded and resourced by MEOCS, with additional investigators being sourced from a variety of commands from the south western Sydney area.

The Strike Force commenced on 14 January 2007. Following an initial intelligence gathering period, the investigation simultaneously targeted every step in the motor vehicle rebirthing process, as described in further detail below. The major arrest phase was conducted on 19 July 2007, when the car theft syndicate was dismantled. Investigations and further arrests of offenders continued until December 2007, briefs of evidence are still being compiled against the offenders identified by the Strike Force.

Agency Co-operation

One of the highlights of this investigation was the cooperation of numerous Government, private sector and law enforcement agencies.

Significant intelligence was contributed by different agencies in both the early stages of the operation and during it’s execution. Intelligence was provided to the Strike Force by the Tow Truck Authority of NSW (TTA), the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Authority (MVRIA) and the Motor Squad of the Victorian Police. Such intelligence related to both the criminal subjects of the investigation, as well as the assorted personnel and organisations that were encountered during the investigation.

In addition to intelligence, non-police agencies assisted the investigation by providing resources, both in manpower and various physical resources to the Strike Force. The Insurance Australia Group (lAG) provided vehicle wrecks and parts for a variety of purposes. DataDot Technology Australia provided resources and equipment to the Strike Force, as described in detail below. The Department of Fair Trading (DFT) executed strategic business inspections that assisted investigators objectives, and provided valuable expertise in specialist areas. The analytical work and intelligence provided by the NSW Crime Commission was crucial to the Strike Force from inception to conclusion.

The interstate operations of the target group saw cooperation between the NSW, Queensland and Victorian Police Forces. A number of the Strike Force targets were intercepted and arrested by Queensland Police outside Bundaberg Queensland, as a result of electronic surveillance conducted in NSW. Similarly, the Victoria Police Motor Squad contributed significant intelligence holdings regarding the interstate operations of the target group.

Innovative Investigation Techniques

In light of amendments to the NSW Crimes Act during 2006, creating a specific offence for the act of vehicle rebirthing, there was significant opportunity for innovation to traditional methodology of investigating vehicle theft and rebirthing.

During the course of the investigation, Police were used to infiltrated the motor vehicle industry, and obtain evidence and intelligence in relation to the methodology of the targets. Police were able to monitor and observe the production and sale of false invoices and documentation. These documents were being sold to vehicle rebirthers by smash repairers, allowing the rebirthers to legitimise stolen parts contained within vehicles. These documents were subsequently produced to the RTA during inspection of the repaired wrecks prior to registration.

Police were also used to purchase rebirthed motor vehicles from the Strike Force targets, allowing investigators to establish evidence of the entire rebirthing process, from the theft of the initial vehicles, through to the disposal of the parts attached to the rebirthed vehicle.

Investigators used DataDot technology to track a variety of vehicle parts during the investigation. Intelligence indicated that some of the targets would steal and strip the vehicles, then later purchase the same clinically stripped wreck through the motor vehicle auction systems, before affixing stolen parts and presenting for registration. DataDot Technology (Aust) provided investigators with the resources and equipment that allowed them to identify wrecks, affix Datadot identification, and then thereby track these wrecks through the rebirthing process.

Following the identification of a crew of professional car thieves, extensive use was made of physical and electronic surveillance in order to monitor the thieves movements and activities. In this way, investigators were able to gather evidence of the conversations in which the crew took orders for particular makes and models of vehicles to be stolen and delivered. In some cases, three separate vehicles would be ordered and stolen in a single night. Physical surveillance was conducted while the thieves made their reconnaissance of the eastern beaches area, locating and surveilling the vehicles they were seeking. Observations were made of the theft of the vehicle and it was observed driven back to south west Sydney.

Through electronic and physical surveillance, investigators established the location of the premises where stolen vehicles were being delivered. Again electronic and physical surveillance was conducted, and captured video footage of stolen vehicles being delivered to the premises, and car parts being taken out of the premises the following day. Aerial photographs of the premises were taken for further intelligence purposes.

Size of the Investigation

Strike Force Olympian quickly developed into an extremely large and complex investigation. The Strike Force targeted the stolen motor vehicle industry at all levels, in addition to implementing traditional methods of investigating motor vehicle rebirthing. The car thieves themselves were identified and closely monitored. The chop shops were under constant video surveillance. The Wreckers were investigated in relation to the provision of receipts and the trade in stolen vehicles parts. Panel Beating businesses and smash repairers were inspected at strategic times and places to generate intelligence and evidence. Overt inspections and patrols were conducted at certain limes and places to complement the covert investigations.

Strike Force targets were found to be regularly presenting repaired wrecks at the RTA Vehicle Inspection Unit, in order to have them registered in NSW. In many cases this involved the production of false receipts, or the later substitution of stolen parts, and was often conducted through friends and family of the offenders. With the co-operation of the RTA, these inspections were covertly monitored, and the vehicles and offenders were subsequently surveilled to premises and businesses that were found to be intimately involved in the rebirthing process.

Similarly, it was established that rebirthed vehicles, or vehicles with stolen parts affixed were being disposed of through channels such as the Trading Post Such sales often occurred to innocent third parties. This activity was also monitored throughout the investigation, and showed the final step in the rebirthing process, from theft through to disposal.

The complexity and size of the operation was typified during the arrest phase executed on 19 July 2007. On this day, over 90 investigators and numerous support police NSW Police gathered at Police Headquarters in Parramatta for a pre-dawn briefing, along with staff from the RTA and DFT. At first light, the Strike Force executed simultaneous search warrants at 10 locations throughout south western Sydney.

This arrest phase concluded the “car thief chapter” of the investigation, and alone saw the arrest of 6 offenders the laying of over 50 charges. 18 stolen vehicles were located and seized, and two 40 foot shipping containers were required to store the volume of stolen and suspected stolen vehicle parts seized during the search warrants.

Results

Strike Force Olympian resulted in 13 offenders being charged with 126 offences. Charges were laid for offences including facilitating motor vehicle rebirthing, stealing motor vehicles, receiving stolen motor vehicles, dealing with the proceeds of crime, possession of firearms, and the production of dangerous drugs.

The majority of these matters are yet to be finalised, as a result of the size and complexity of the briefs of evidence supplied by the Strike Force investigative team. Encouragingly, the recent conviction of one offender for two counts of car theft saw compensation awarded to both victims and the relevant insurance company.

Immediately following the arrests on 19 July 2007, Rosehill Local Area Command experienced a significant and sustained drop in the number of stolen vehicles located within their command. 27 stolen vehicles were located during August 2007, a total down from a previous high of 59 in March.

Strike Force Olympian generated 56 intelligence reports relating primarily to the stealing and rebirthing of motor vehicles, as well as the offenders and locations involved. In addition, intelligence has been gathered regarding the methodologies used by criminals at all levels of the rebirthing industry. This includes tools used by professional car thieves, methods of stripping vehicles of identifiers and disposing of parts, through to manners for fraudulently accounting for stolen parts, and channels through which rebirthed vehicles are sold to innocent buyers.

Accepting the award on behalf of his colleagues was Detective Senior Constable Bryan MATTHES.  

Detective Senior Constable MATTHES has a long association with IAATI by virtue of his work as a licensed panel-beater. He was a member of the former NSW Police Motor Squad, and after leaving the Police, he operated panel-shops in southern Sydney for a number of years. He returned to the NSW Police in 2003, and in January 2007, he was appointed Officer in Charge of Strike Force Olympian.

The conduct of this investigation was a formidable task, made more difficult by the fact that Detective MATTHES was the only member of the entire Strike Force with experience in motor vehicle crime. In addition to the demanding role of running an investigation of this size and complexity, Detective MATTHES planned and conducted both formal and informal training for Strike Force members, to provide them with the specialist knowledge necessary to conduct this investigation.

Detective MATTHES association with IAATI proved invaluable to the Strike Force, as the network of specialists and organisations was crucial to the investigation, and called upon regularly. He returned from the 2007 IAATI conference in Melbourne with a variety of new ideas and contacts, both of which were important to the success of the Strike Force. Detective MATTHES planned and executed the recovery of 20 stolen vehicles during the investigation, and co-ordinated the involvement of over 100 personnel from a variety of agencies, during the closure of the “car thief chapter”.

Det. Sen. Const. Bryan Matthes