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Before the 1992 heroin incident, there were few drugs Mr Ridley had not
tried in the line of duty - taking them had become part and parcel of
ensuring his cover was not blown.
The day he snorted "a huge line of speed" straight off a hunting knife held
under his nose by a member of the Rebels Motorcycle Gang still lived with Mr
Ridley, Mr Burbidge said.
He worked as many as seven operations at a time - and struggled to remember
his cover stories.
"It was quite difficult during the course of a shift to remember which drug
you were buying sometimes," Mr Ridley said when briefly taking the stand
yesterday.
Living under the constant threat of being discovered, he was also on the
receiving end of his colleagues' high-powered rifles during arrests and was
once kicked unconscious by an officer unaware he was an undercover agent.
Mr Burbidge alleged that, despite his client raising concerns, the only time
he was sent to a psychologist was at his superior - Detective Inspector Mick
Drury's - request.
"No advice of any kind was forthcoming in relation to his growing problem
with alcohol and drugs," Mr Burbidge said.
Mr Ridley had spent the past 13 years looking over his shoulder, waiting for
a contract killer to find him after one of his targets, Russian gangster
Alex Nuchimov, put a price on his head.
The Russian heroin dealer was arrested in 1992 following a 12-month
undercover operation.
Mr Ridley and his first wife went into witness protection but the matter
worsened when Nuchimov escaped two years later.
The case continues on Monday.
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