Loose lips
DAVID MURRAY
23jan05
A MAJOR police drug operation targeting a bikie club
could have been blown after officers "boasted" in a pub about plans for a
string of raids, according to secret documents.
The raids in Rockhampton ended in shambles when the
club members were tipped off that they were about to be searched, according
to the documents obtained by The Sunday Mail.
Because of the tip-off, police had to cancel more than
half their planned raids.
And nothing was found at the properties which police
did search.
The powerful Australian Crime Commission had joined
forces with Queensland police to investigate the Rockhampton chapter of the
Rebels Motorcycle Club and associates.
The investigation, codenamed Operation Alpha
Mayflower, lasted at least 20 months and extended to north Queensland,
inland to Winton and south to Sydney.
It is understood the investigation relied on the
Australian Crime Commission's special powers to conduct phone taps and
included physical and electronic surveillance.
As part of the investigation, police had planned to
conduct a series of early-morning raids in Rockhampton on May 23, 2003.
But the plans went awry when the Rebels' Rockhampton
solicitor the previous night allegedly told a biker about the impending
raids. The conversation was recorded by police.
A solicitor has been charged with attempting to
pervert the course of justice and attempted official corruption. He has
indicated he will fight the charges.
The question for police is how the highly-sensitive
details came to be leaked.
The Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission
conducted an investigation, codenamed Operation Mustard, into the bungled
raids.
Documents marked "highly protected" show CMC
investigators asked Detective Senior-Constable Christine Hilker how the
information could have been leaked.
"From what I've been told, just from what you hear
obviously it happened down at the Great Western (hotel)," she said in
response.
"Whether it was one of many young fellows just
boasting about doing the bikies and then it's gone further from that, I
don't know.
"But I believe it's happened down there just due to
the time of the phone calls and etc."
Det Sen-Constable Hilker said in a separate witness
statement that the day before the planned raids she had organised search
warrants against 10 people in the Rockhampton area.
At 5am on the day of the raids, her officer-in-charge
organised an unscheduled meeting of team leaders.
"At this stage information had been received that the
intended targets were aware of the operation and would be waiting police
arrival," her statement says.
Officers went ahead with search warrants against four
people – six fewer than planned. "These searches were unsuccessful and nil
property was located," the statement says.
"Search warrants were not executed on the remaining
targets as a result of the information received."
A CMC spokeswoman confirmed there had been "an
investigation into the allegation of a police officer leaking information to
the solicitor".
"However the allegation could not be substantiated,"
she said.
"The investigation did result in the solicitor being
charged with perverting the course of justice." The CMC would not comment
further.
A Queensland Police Service spokesman said any
allegations of improper conduct by police would have been fully investigated
by the CMC.
An Australian Crime Commission spokeswoman said she
could not comment because Queensland police had led the operation.
During the entire course of Operation Alpha Mayflower
(known as Operation Ballynoe to the Australian Crime Commission), police
seized at least 12.5kg of pseudoephedrine, 5000 ecstasy tablets, 10 illegal
firearms, more than $100,000 cash and several hundred grams of amphetamines
Back
HOME
