'Friends won't be there': Fighting to save Pasifika youth from lives of crime

Sydney's gangland war has become a political issue, after a string of mistaken identity attacks against innocent people — allegedly committed by young, inexperienced criminals.

Police believe the latest chapter is being driven by a power struggle between the Alameddine crime family and the self-proclaimed 'Coconut Cartel', a network of gang members with links to the Pacific Islander community.

There are concerns this has increased the vulnerability of at-risk Pacific Islander teens.

"We're very aware of the Coconut Cartel and those groups that are traditionally from a Pacific Islander background," Superintendent Phil Hallinan told 7.30.

"At the moment there has been an increase with Pacific Islander kids being involved in crime. We're hoping that's just a blip, as we've seen in other communities.

"I guess some of the kids that have been recruited and involved ... it's probably by people they know and people they might trust and look up to."

It's a life that former gang member Joseph 'Malik' Nikua knows well.

"I was 15 when I got my first charge — grievous bodily harm," Mr Nikua told 7.30.

Currently the offence carries a 25-year maximum sentence in NSW, but Mr Nikua said back then he walked away from a police station after four hours with little more than "a slap on the wrist".

"There was no real punishment. And at that age, that taught me something dangerous: I will get lucky again."

Emboldened by the lack of repercussions and praise from his friends Mr Nikua started a youth gang that evolved into the Inner West Brotherhood and drill rap group 21 District, which rose to prominence in 2019 at the height of Western Sydney's Postcode Wars.

As authorities warn of a new generation of teenagers getting involved in gang-related crime, law reforms passed by NSW Parliament last week will see children face adult penalties if they commit some organised crime-related offences, including public shootings and fire-bombings.

Mr Nikua believes facing a harsh punishment as a juvenile offender may have prevented him from becoming more involved in the gangland violence and crime that would later lead to him spending years of his adult life in jail for involvement in a wild brawl.

"I would support that decision. And I say that as someone who has a lot of love for the youth, being an ex-juvenile myself," Mr Nikua said.

"There needs to at least be bigger penalties and serious consequences that teach [young people] a harder lesson."

Since his release from prison he has focused on turning his life around and last year launched a podcast aimed at keeping at-risk youth on the right track with his brothers Jay and Ronnie Nikua.

The former 21 District members have also been doing outreach work in the community.

"Back in my day, you couldn't really be a criminal if you weren't growing up around that," Mr Nikua said.

"Now anyone can be a criminal. That's how much everything has changed."

Tackling the 'scary' reality

Members of the broader Pasifika community have also been taking steps to address the issue.

On a Wednesday evening in Sydney's south-west, rowdy teenage boys quickly fill up a small room at the Oran Park Leisure Centre.

Before they sit down for a meal, they're asked to share with the group their 'highlight' of the week.

A young teenager proudly announces he attended all his classes at school and is rewarded with supportive cheers from his peers and adult mentors. 

Pacific and Australian Community Services founder Bruce Pikula started running these mentoring sessions because he believed many young people in the community needed a "safe space" that aims to keep kids on the right track.

"We get a lot of [young people] from the streets — at-risk, disengaged, a lot come from the schools, we get referrals from Youth Justice,"

Mr Pikula said.

Pasifika police officers also attend the weekly sessions to work with communities in Sydney's west who are affected by youth crime as members of a team called the Pacific Officers Law Enforcement Network (POLEN).

It was launched by Samoan-born NSW Police Sergeant Ben Sega about four years ago, after noticing a trend emerging in serious and organised crime investigations.

"It was important for us to do something because we were just seeing too many young men, particularly Pasifika young men, getting caught up in organised crime and being used by these networks to do their heavy lifting," he said.

The sessions also provide support for families. 

A mother in attendance told 7.30 she wanted to keep her children on the right track.

"I'm still learning … I've got seven kids, trying to control each and every one is hard, it's difficult," she said.

The escalation in gangland crime in Sydney — and the increased involvement of teenagers — has frightened her.

"In our area, we're getting stuff happening every day," she said.

"There are break-ins, there's murders happening, so many sirens of different police, ambulances being escorted. It's quite scary how it's not safe anymore."

She was concerned about who her children could be interacting with at school or work.

"There's only so much you can do at home, it's when they walk out those doors. You don't know who is around … who is able to manipulate them," she said.

"There's too much social media ... too many different apps they can communicate through. That's probably the scariest part, not knowing what is on their phone or what they have access to."

'Friends won't be there for you'

The parents of teenage boys in Cobham Youth Justice Centre have also raised concerns over the escalation in gang-related issues.

Youth Justice NSW acting project officer Leilani Tonumaipea said the centre had recently expanded its program for Pacific Islander youth to include sessions with parents.

"Parents are concerned their young people are becoming easily exposed to [gang-related crime], so what they've said is what can they do to help?" she said.

"For us, the best way to help our parents is help them understand … why [young people] gravitate towards committing crime."

Many of the boys in the program need to be separated when they first arrive due to rivalry between street gangs from different parts of Sydney.

"At the moment, it is quite common [for boys to be involved in gang-related issues when they arrive] — even to the point we felt like we were running out of units or spaces to house them," Ms Tonumaipea said.

It's one of the challenges the Pasifika program is designed to overcome.

"These programs and the other programs we run help mediate the young people's gang-related issues … and the main thing we utilise is they have many more positives in common than opposites," she said.

"When they come together through these programs, their values and their commonalities bring them back together."

7.30 spoke with a teenage boy taking part in the Pasifika program. For legal reasons, their identities and charges cannot be published.

One teen told 7.30 he has focused on changing his behaviour since arriving at Cobham more than a year ago and that detention came with some hard lessons.

"I didn't want to listen to anyone, I always thought I knew best," he said.

"People always told me, 'Your friends won't be there for you when you're in here'.

"I couldn't say they're wrong, to be honest. That was a big changing point for me."

He attributed the rise in teenagers getting involved in crime to increased financial pressures and a lack of role models but said he had been shown how to change.

"It's thanks to these programs and the mentors," one told 7.30.

"They've really helped me identify myself and knowing who I want to be and how I want to lead myself."

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