Revealed: The alleged Aussie drug kingpin who ‘runs’ syndicate linked to accused daycare centre ‘kill team’
A drug syndicate based in Vietnam and suspected of being run by an Australian man has been linked to a foiled alleged execution plot at a Sydney daycare centre.
Tactical police swooped on three alleged would-be hitmen in traffic at Revesby, in the city’s south, on the afternoon of October 7.
It was revealed later investigators were looking into connections between the incident and the alleged kidnapping and murder of Sydney mum-of-two Thi Kim Tran earlier this year.
Police allege the Vietnam-born woman was abducted from her western Sydney home in April by masked men and shot before her remains were found in a burnt-out car.
The 45-year-old woman was likely targeted over her husband’s alleged ties to a Vietnamese-linked crime network based in Victoria, detectives said.
NSW Police organised crime squad commander Peter Faux told the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday that police believe a Vietnamese crime syndicate headed by Daniel Rodney Badger, 40 is involved in both incidents.
It is not suggested Badger directly ordered, or even knew of, both incidents.
Badger relocated to Vietnam from western Sydney with his then-partner almost a decade ago and has long been on the Australian Federal Police’s radar.
Police allege former Sydney man Daniel Rodney Badger, who’s believed to be based in Vietnam, is behind a Vietnamese drug syndicate active in Australia
Investigators were looking at potential links between an alleged foiled assassination on October 7 and the alleged execution of Sydney woman Thi Kim Tran (pictured) in April
Tighe, Kevin Mundine, 19, and Tyrone Tuiluga Rio, 26, were allegedly hired to gun down a known criminal as part of an internal power struggle in a south-east Asian criminal network
Detectives suspect Badger is behind one of the biggest groups manufacturing and importing methamphetamine into Australia.
‘The drugs being imported into the country are generating large amounts of money, which generates conflict. The firearms that are coming into the country, that are made overseas, they’re being used around that conflict,’ Faux said.
‘So we’re really focusing on stopping the crimes of violence.’
Since the foiled daycare plot, raids of five properties believed to be linked to Badger’s alleged syndicate were carried out in Mays Hill, Bankstown, Campsie and Bonnyrigg Heights.
Police allegedly seized three foreign handguns, 300 rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest and more than 415kg of illicit drugs.
Those included 287kg of methamphetamine, 47kg of cocaine, 81kg of heroin and 838 grams of MDMA worth an estimated street value of $260million.
When police scooped on two car in traffic on October 7, three men were arrested – Kevin Mundine, 19, Greall Tighe, 18 and Tyrone Tuiluga Rio, 26.
They were allegedly hired to gun down a known criminal at a daycare pick-up as part of an internal power struggle within a criminal group.
Badger relocated to Vietnam with his wife (pictured at his lavish wedding)
Tactical police are pictured swarming a Mercedes in Revesby traffic
Greall Tighe, 18, was one of three arrested in the dramatic police traffic stop
Officers from Tactical Operations Unit, PolAir, the Dog Squad and State Intelligence Command were involved in the arrests.
‘We stopped them from [allegedly] murdering someone and we stopped other people, innocent bystanders, from being caught up in this,’ Faux said the following day.
He said police did not believe the group personally knew the alleged intended victim.
‘They were people [allegedly] hired by a syndicate, possibly an offshore syndicate.
‘We believe it is an internal matter where there is a dispute inside the organisation.’
Faux said police swooped on the group in traffic as investigators believed they were on the way to a daycare where there would have been children present.
Badger is pictured in Western Sydney before relocating to Vietnam
Police had the alleged gang under surveillance before they stopped them in traffic
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner and head of State Crime Command Scott Cook at the time said the Tactical Operations Squad had been ‘working relentlessly on this crime syndicate for a number of weeks’.
It has since been revealed Tighe was on bail when police swooped on the car after he was charged with 17 cases of break and enter.
It’s understood that officers fired ‘bean bag’ rounds – pouches packed with lead pellets designed to stop but not kill – to bring the cars to a halt.
Dramatic footage showed officers in bulletproof vests pounding on a Mercedes and shouting orders as one officer aimed his firearm at an occupant.
Within seconds, two men were dragged from the vehicle and pinned to the road.
Further down The River Road, a Mitsubishi SUV peppered with bullet holes was boxed in by police as officers hauled a third man from the driver’s seat.
Inside the vehicles, police allegedly uncovered two pistols, balaclavas, body-worn cameras and jerry cans filled with fuel.
Mundine and Tighe have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, possession of an unauthorised pistol, being carried in a stolen vehicle, participating in a criminal group and breaching bail.
Inside the vehicles, police allegedly uncovered two pistols, balaclavas, body-worn cameras and jerry cans filled with fuel
Dramatic video footage showed officers in bulletproof vests at the scene
Tuiluga Rio is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and participation in a criminal group. All were refused bail to appear in Bankstown Local Court.
‘This was a calculated and coordinated intervention that stopped what we allege was a planned killing in a place where families expect to feel safe,’ Assistant Commissioner Cook said.
‘This outcome reflects the strength of our intelligence capabilities and the precision of our surveillance operations. These individuals were being watched, and we moved at the right moment.
‘Strike Force Flodine is part of State Crime Command’s broader strategy to dismantle organised crime networks operating across Sydney, and these arrests are that strategy in action.
‘We remain committed to protecting the community from serious and organised crime, especially when it threatens everyday spaces where families expect to feel safe.’
