The Dark Side

The explosive story of corruption, greed and murder in the Australian drug trade

A fierce and compelling exposé of organised crime and the role of a senior law enforcement officer in Australia's multibillion-dollar drug trade.

'Each year at least $10 billion is laundered in and through Australia. Much of this money is derived from illicit drugs.'

Hooked on the limitless profits of the drug trade, organised crime has grown so powerful that it now poses a major threat to Australia's national security. Clive Small and Tom Gilling show how Australian crime gangs, in partnership with violent international syndicates, have exploited lax law enforcement and corruption on the nation's waterfront to import narcotics on a vast scale from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

The authors reveal for the first time the corrupt history of Mark Standen, the senior investigator at the New South Wales Crime Commission whose conviction on drug importation charges sparked Australia's biggest law-enforcement crisis since the Wood royal commission. In the process they expose the cover-ups, strategic blunders and missed opportunities that continue to make Australia a soft target for international drug traffickers.

©2017 Clive Small and Tom Gilling (P)2017 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd