CANBERRA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The cost of organized crime to Australia rose by almost 20 percent to more than 80 billion Australian dollars (51.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023-24, according to federal law enforcement agencies.
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) said in a joint report recently that the direct and indirect cost of organized crime to Australia hit 82.3 billion Australian dollars (53.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the 2023-24 financial year, up 19.7 percent from 68.7 billion Australian dollars (44.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022-23.
Of the total figure in 2023-24, 58.9 billion Australian dollars (38.2 billion U.S. dollars) was attributed to the direct and consequential cost of organized crime and the remaining 23.4 billion Australian dollars (15.1 billion U.S. dollars) to the indirect costs of stopping organized crime.
Heather Cook, chief executive officer of the ACIC and a director of the AIC, said that the rising cost of organized crime is indicative of the threat posed to the safety and security of Australia.
"The criminal landscape in Australia has fundamentally shifted. High-level criminals are continuously evolving their networks and operations, allowing them to profit at the expense of the Australian public, damage our economy, and threaten our national security," she said in a statement.
Illicit drugs had the biggest direct cost of any organized crime activity at 19 billion Australian dollars (12.3 billion U.S. dollars) followed by organized financial crime, trafficking illicit commodities and cybercrime.
The cost of illicit tobacco to Australia hit 4 billion Australian dollars (2.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023-24, marking a four-fold increase over the past three years. ■
