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© The Hidden World Research Group
Independent Report
Candidate Sources
(Via Sydney Airport)
The Marijuana Placed in
Schapelle Corby’s Bag
The Expendable Project
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Sydney: The William Miller Affair
2.1 Background: Cobalt & Corruption
2.1.1 Police Corruption
2.1.2 Sydney Airport
2.2 William Walter Miller
2.2.1 The State’s Reaction
2.2.2 Tom Percy QC
2.2.3 Mr Miller’s Litigation
2.2.4 Legal Transcripts
2.2.5 Location & Relationship
2.2.6 The Consistent Story
2.3 Third Party Corroboration
3. Source Propositions
3.1 The Sue Affair
3.1.1 Background
3.1.2 The AFP
3.1.3 The Failure To Investigate
3.2 The John Ford Affair
3.2.1 Background
3.2.2 John Ford
3.2.3 Third Party Corroboration
3.2.4 The Unique Flight Delay Pattern
3.2.5 The AFP
3.2.6 Closing Notes
3.3 The Operation Mocha Affair
3.3.1 Introduction
3.3.2 A Question Of Timing
3.3.3 Government Correspondence
3.3.4 Parliamentary Questions
3.3.5 The Flight Delay Pattern
3.3.6 Closing Notes
4. Summary
[Introduction]
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1. INTRODUCTION
Given the sheer scale of the corruption and criminality known to have existed at Australian airports, within the police services, and within a number of other related agencies, the potential number of sources of the marijuana found in Schapelle Corby‟s bag in Bali, is huge.
Drug syndication was systemic, as evidenced by a raft of official reports and media articles. Sydney airport alone employed dozens of baggage handlers with criminal records, many of whom have since been shown to have been actively involved in drug smuggling.
Indeed, on the same day, and at exactly the same time as Schapelle Corby passed through Sydney airport, it has also been proven that a large shipment of drugs was passing through exactly the same baggage make up area.
In addition, a number of third parties have volunteered information regarding the source of the marijuana itself.
This paper examines some of these in more detail, specifically, those propositions which source the marijuana, from Queensland, Victoria (via Queensland) and South America.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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2. SYDNEY - THE WILLIAM MILLER AFFAIR
2.1. BACKGROUND: COBALT & CORRUPTION
In December 2005 the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) presented a report to the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Parliament, titled 'Operation Cobalt'. The following summary is taken directly from it:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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It is noteworthy that the events documented, unfolded prior to, and during, the period in which Schapelle Corby travelled to Bali, and indeed, evidence presentation commenced on exactly the same day she flew, 8th October 2004.
Clearly, it was a report of great significance. It was damning of police corruption, and identified a staggering catalogue of serious criminal activity.
However, whilst one might imagine that the Police Integrity Commission, the NSW State Parliament, and the Federal Parliament of Australia, would address this disturbing matter swiftly and openly, this is not what occurred.
Such was the level of inactivity that some politicians, and the media, eventually began to ask questions:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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It was not until August 2007 that charges were eventually brought, albeit in an extraordinary manner:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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The Police Integrity Commission's media release, which both confirmed the charges, and the decision to notify Laycock as though "being issued with a speeding fine", was issued on 27th August 2007:
This was clearly a case of the utmost gravity. Indeed, it was a landmark case, embracing a staggering catalogue of police corruption, and a host of extremely serious crimes.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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But what happened?
There was no further reference in the Australian media to these charges, to them being dropped, to a court case, or to any other related event, until July 2011, almost four years later, and almost seven years after the publication of the Cobalt Report.
Laycock was then charged with a minority of the less serious offences:
He remained at liberty throughout this period.
The judicial process itself remained unreported until February 2012, despite the serious and significant nature of the trial.
On 9th February 2012, an extraordinary sequence of events occurred, in this already most extraordinary of situations. A 30 page document appeared on the scene, which was so sensitive that sentencing was delayed and the court went into lockdown:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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The nature of the information, which was too “sensitive” to become public, is limited to a small number of possibilities.
One possibility, which has been suggested in closed groups, is that CL‟s lawyer presented a list of names of powerful individuals, associated with serious offences such as paedophilia and fraud.
Certainly, CL would have had access to such information, given his past contacts and associations.
Equally, the document could have contained information related to the true source of the marijuana found in Schapelle Corby‟s bag, and could have identified who knew about this.
All this is speculation. However, it is clear that a document suddenly appeared, which threw the court into disarray, and which is consistent with the above.
The next hearing, on March 29th, demonstrated the openness and transparency of the Australian judicial system, in all its glory. Members of the public were refused entry to the court. They were even moved away from the courtroom entrance.
The case was not listed on any of the court hearing notices.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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Downing Centre Court 2.1, Sydney - 10am, 29th March 2012
Despite this, the media produced a report on the proceedings, written as though the dramatic factual events of the previous hearing had never occurred, and without even a reference to the existence of that „too sensitive‟ new evidence.
In the circumstances, the accuracy of this, and other media reports, cannot be assumed.
The media response to the presentation of the document, and to proceedings, was clearly and demonstrably aligned to the demands of the judicial system, and the state, rather than to the actual facts of the situation.
It is also important to note the change of Judge, from Knox, to Williams:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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OUTCOME PENDING
THIS SECTION OF THE REPORT WILL BE UPDATED SHORTLY
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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2.1.1 POLICE CORRUPTION
As shocking as this situation may appear to observers outside Australia, the scale of corruption and criminality within Australian policing, in the wider context, was equally alarming.
Frequent and serious allegations of corruption, including drug syndication through Australian airports, were emerging against the AFP, through whistleblowers such as Ray Cooper and Gary Lee-Rogers. The latter was found dead with a blood-stained knife, bloodied pillow, and two white plastic bottles in his right hand, after predicting that he would be murdered because of what he had discovered. This, incredibly, was deemed by the authorities to be death by natural causes.
Then there was the Standen affair. Mark Standen was a former Assistant Director of the NSW Crime Commission. He was also the head of Operation Mocha, a joint investigation by the AFP and the NSW Crime Commission into a drug syndication ring. This embraced the shipment of drugs passing through Sydney Airport at exactly the same time as Schapelle Corby's boogie-board bag. Standen, who had worked in the same office as AFP Commissioner Michael Keelty, in Sydney, was later arrested for conspiring to import $120 million of pre-cursor drugs into Australia. He was convicted in August 2011.
On 7th June 2008, The Australian newspaper reported that Standen "grew up in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Burwood". Burwood was also the old locale of Laycock, Hopes, Dunks, and others cited in the Cobalt Report.
There was also the disturbing situation at Sydney Airport itself. On 31st May 2005, an article was published in The Australian which revealed that a confidential customs report had identified substantial levels of criminal activity at Sydney Airport: "Workers at the nation's largest airport, including baggage handlers with high-level security clearances have been involved in drug smuggling....", "The report, obtained by The Australian, details serious security breaches and illegal activity by baggage handlers, air crew....".
It later transpired that dozens of staff had been hired, who had criminal records, and that significant numbers of these were engaging in criminal activity at the airport, including drug smuggling.
But, post 9-11, the issue of airport security was extremely sensitive from a political perspective. It was also commercially sensitive.
Thus, as documented in other Expendable reports, the government and the AFP immediately concentrated on suppressing the leak and tracking down its source, rather than focussing upon the core issues. A senior customs officer, Allan Kessing, was subsequently charged in relation to whistleblowing.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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Despite the state‟s unambiguous position with respect to whistleblowing, examples of police corruption continued to emerge:
Against this background, therefore, the almost laissez-faire reaction of the Australian government and judiciary to the Cobalt Report, and to the role of Laycock and others, is perhaps unsurprising. However, yet another aspect was to emerge.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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2.1.2 SYDNEY AIRPORT
On examining Laycock's association with drugs, it is noteworthy that Sydney Airport was indeed within the geographical boundaries of his influence and operation. This is indicated by the disturbing story below, as reported by the ABC:
His association with drug related crime is, perhaps, illustrated by his role in the murder of Andrew John Heavens:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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But, what does this analysis have to do with the drugs inadvertently carried by Schapelle Corby, other than the locale, or „turf‟, of the drug-related criminality?
The main direct link is provided by a petty criminal, William Miller, who was also known as William Moss.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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2.2 WILLIAM WALTER MILLER
With this staggering web of police corruption and serious involvement in drug crime clearly evident, William Miller was introduced to the public, courtesy of a main headline news story in The Daily Telegraph:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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On the face of it, this story was potentially extremely helpful to Schapelle Corby. The huge contradiction within it, however, is obvious.
The Daily Telegraph presented Mr Miller as an important figure in the case, in its front page „exclusive‟, yet towards the end it almost dismissed its own story.
This bizarre situation is, however, clarified considerably through closer examination.
2.2.1 THE STATE’S REACTION
An entire segment of the Expendable Documentary is dedicated to demonstrating the propagandistic role of the ABC with respect to Schapelle Corby. It is, therefore, unsurprising that the ABC chose to use their Media Watch broadcast, of 1st August 2005, to seek to undermine Mr Miller, and the story published by The Daily Telegraph just a few days earlier.
“This week's joke is that Daily Telegraph front page 'exclusive'.
A story that no paper with any self-respect would give any credibility at all”.
Wider consideration of this apparent comment from the establishment, again seeking to quell any semblance of interest, by a newspaper, in presenting material which might help Schapelle Corby, is outside the scope of this report.
However, the use of Media Watch to attack the commercial media for broadcasting anything other than hostile spin, has undoubtedly been a common feature, beginning just days after the trial, and continuing to the present day.
Of relevance to this report is the question of whether The Daily Telegraph discredited its own story before, or after, it learned that this intervention was going to be broadcast.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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2.2.2 TOM PERCY QC
If the background music was provided by Media Watch, the involvement of Tom Percy QC enabled The Daily Telegraph to dismiss Mr Miller‟s story with apparent authority.
The closing paragraph stated that: “He said he also called Corby‟s Perth-based barrister, Tom Percy QC, but was told his story had no credibility”. However, closer examination paints a rather more ambiguous picture.
Percy was one of two QCs pressed upon the Corby family by the government, following the criticism levelled at them by Schapelle Corby‟s original defence team. This was resisted, but the government‟s wish prevailed, despite elements of the media openly wondering what practical help they could possibly deliver:
The outcome of this, however, was devastating for Schapelle Corby, as one of them, Mark Trowell QC, attacked her defence team in public, during the appeal:
Several years later, Trowell was “reprimanded” for this shocking intervention, but during the hearing, he stated that he was actually working for the government, and not for Schapelle Corby. This affair is documented in The Insider Report, which can be viewed on the following web page: http://www.expendable.tv/2011/10/insider-report.html
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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Tom Percy was far less visible, and apparently, more reluctant to discuss his role in the case. When approached by a volunteer for The Expendable Project, and asked to explain the circumstances of his engagement, he referred to the Trowell case judgement, refusing to add anything.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH ARTICLE
The William Miller story was published on 27th July 2005. This date is important because Mr Miller states categorically that he had never even spoken to Percy prior to the 28th July:
(Court Transcript)
Further, he pressed this repeatedly in court. This included and through examination of the journalist‟s notebook, which referred to Percy, but not within a quote from Mr Miller:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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Mr Miller alleged, throughout, that the final paragraph in The Daily Telegraph article could only have been produced through a conversation between The Daily Telegraph and Percy, or by The Daily Telegraph alone.
Mr Miller‟s recollection of the actual conversation with Percy, when it did occur, also appears to be very clear. This is illustrated by his responses below:
(The handwritten notes, inserting the date, are those of Mr Miller)
Mr Miller subsequently sought to press this issue outside the court, copying the following to a number of news organizations:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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He was, apparently, so affronted, that he also attempted to serve the following paper on Percy:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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When contacted in March 2012, by a volunteer for The Expendable Project, and asked directly to confirm or deny whether he had ever spoken to Mr Miller before 28th July, Percy refused to do so.
When it was put to him that it could appear that The Daily Telegraph had discussed the issue with him, and subsequently put his words into Mr Miller‟s mouth, to cover this dialogue, he again refused to comment.
2.2.3 MR MILLER’S LITIGATION
Independent research reveals significant supporting evidence for Mr Miller‟s story.
However, the hostile words regarding Mr Miller, published in The Daily Telegraph article, inevitably had the effect of discrediting him. Investigation has also revealed a potential fiscal interest for The Daily Telegraph in pulling back on the story.
It has emerged that The Daily Telegraph reports were made against the background of a serious dispute with Mr Miller.
Mr Miller states that he decided to come forward when he heard a cruel joke about Schapelle Corby in a television program. He made contact with The Daily Telegraph, sought immunity from prosecution, and asked to have his costs covered, which included provision to help him leave Sydney, where he feared for his safety. He argued that his welfare could be jeopardised, as he was, by necessity, informing on the criminal activity of others.
From a commercial entity like The Daily Telegraph, whom he presumed routinely paid for stories, Miller asked for a payment commensurate with what he perceived to be its commercial value. He insists that a Daily Telegraph journalist agreed he would be paid $250,000. The Daily Telegraph disputed this, and subsequently presented this dispute in a manner which discredited Mr Miller, and likewise his evidence and story.
Mr Miller was incensed. In fact he was so incensed that he embarked upon a legal course against News Ltd, and their journalists, which spanned years. He pursued this to the point of bankruptcy.
2.2.4 INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE LEGAL TRANSCRIPTS
The transcripts from this multitude of legal cases provide a significant amount of information with respect to Mr Miller‟s allegations.
It is also worth noting that the tenacity, consistency, and determination shown by Mr Miller, are not qualities which are normally associated with someone who merely conceived an allegation as a scam.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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He pursued the issue through every court he could, usually representing himself. He reacted with clear indignation, as the judicial system repeatedly supported the major corporation he confronted.
However, the legal process itself presented a very detailed picture of Mr Miller‟s stated involvement.
His testimony to the courts stated that he received a telephone call offering him a 'job‟. This, essentially, was to make a collection from the airport. He stated that he was offered $50,000 to accept this mission.
He stated that he neither accepted nor turned the job down, but was hesitant. He also stated that he believed someone else may have been found to do the job.
He told The Daily Telegraph that:
However, his court testimony was more explicit:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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He cited a John David Hopes, to The Daily Telegraph, whom he believed to be deceased or under a police protection scheme, and thus unlikely to seek retribution. To the court, he explained that he had withheld the name of John Robert Dunks:
The circumstantial and background evidence to support Mr Miller‟s account is clear from the earlier sections of this report, and the Cobalt Report confirms that Mr Hopes and Mr Dunks are close associates of Christopher Laycock.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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Note that Mr Miller did not have access to any of this material on Laycock, Hopes or Dunks, when he made his allegations, as the Cobalt Report was not published until months later.
Mr Miller expanded on his evidence by explaining that the $50,000 he had been offered for the collection was not necessarily just for the single bag of marijuana, as there could have been multiple bags in the pick-up, and/or other items. He possessed and drove a van suitable in size for such bulk collection. The packaging of the marijuana placed in Schapelle Corby‟s bag was, in fact, consistent with such large scale production/distribution norms.
He repeatedly stated that he was subsequently informed that at least some of the drug pickup had ended up in Bali, and that the baggage handler, whose job it was to remove the drugs from the bag in Sydney, believed he was being watched, and thus didn't perform the job.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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2.2.5 LOCATION & RELATIONSHIP
The locale of Hopes, Dunks, Laycock and others, tends to support this picture, as it broadly covers both the airport, and the home of Mr Miller. For example, the murder of Andrew John Heavens, which involved Laycock in the context of perverting the course of justice, was in the locale of Mr Miller.
The following map demonstrates the proximity of Burwood to Sydney Airport:
The apparent relationship of individuals and location is represented in the diagram below:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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MARK STANDEN
The presence of Mark Standen on this diagram is particularly interesting. As referenced earlier in this report, Mr Standen was the New South Wales Crime Commission Assistant Director, who was head of Operation Mocha. Operation Mocha was an investigation into drug syndication, which included the specific incoming shipment of cocaine, which was in exactly the same Sydney airport baggage make up area, at exactly the same time as Schapelle Corby‟s boogie-board bag passed though, on 8th October 2004.
This remarkable fact has been proven through work rosters and flight records. See the Hidden World Research Group report “Exceptions At Australian Airports With Respect To The Schapelle Corby Case” for further details.
As part of the Mocha operation, Standen managed a corrupt baggage handler, code named „Tom‟, as referenced by this billboard for a well known investigative blog:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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But Mark Standen had other close links with the criminal fraternity. He was charged with, and later convicted of, conspiring to import substantial quantities of pre-cursor drugs into Australia.
THE NEW SOUTH WALES CRIME COMMISSION
The Hidden World Research Group has also discovered that, on 2nd February 2006, Mr Miller was summoned to appear before the New South Wales Crime Commission with respect to his involvement with Dunks / Hopes / Laycock, and the Sydney airport drug run he had described.
When he attended the hearing, he was confronted and interviewed by Mark Standen himself.
He was interrogated on his Schapelle Corby statements, and the offer of a job to collect from the airport, and was presented with some unexpected evidence (see later in this report).
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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2.2.6 THE CONSISTENT STORY
Mr Miller has maintained his story during all the proceedings, in various courts, and throughout the years. It has consistently aligned with what he had told The Daily Telegraph at the outset, as confirmed by the transcript of the journalist‟s shorthand notes:
In 2008, he understood that a judge had indicated that he believed that the marijuana, found in Schapelle Corby‟s bag, were the drugs he was tasked to collect:
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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Whilst the statements are somewhat ambiguous, it again demonstrates Mr Miller‟s consistency.
In 2011 he began proceedings against the ABC, on the basis of their original hostile Media Watch broadcast, which also sought to discredit The Daily Telegraph.
He maintains to this day that the drugs in Schapelle Corby‟s boogie-board bag were intended for collection by himself. He maintains that he was discredited by the media, having reached an understanding that he would be „looked after‟ sufficiently to escape the perceived dangers of Sydney.
[Note: the entire legal process has remained unreported by the Australian media.]
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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2.3 THIRD PARTY CORROBORATION
In March 2012, the Hidden World Research Group received a number of items of new information from a third party. These included a set of confidential minutes from within the New South Wales Crime Commission (NSWCC):
Within this document was the following segment:
This is worthy of close consideration.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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“In July 2005, Gymea investigators released LD material possibly relevant to the Corby Bali drug prosecution”
LD is “Listening Device”, meaning that this material was procured via the bugging of a suspect location, which is understood to be Dunks‟ home.
“The information arising from a recorded conversation between Gymea POI John Dunks and William Moss indicated that Moss was awaiting a shipment of cannabis from Queensland that was to be smuggled through Sydney airport about October 2004 when the Corby cannabis seizure occurred”
POI is “Person Of Interest”, revealing that John Dunks was under observation.
Dunks, of course, is the very person whom William Miller cited as offering the airport collection job. He is also positioned by the Cobalt Report to be a key member of the Laycock/Hopes gang.
The recording indicated that William Miller was awaiting a shipment of marijuana, suggesting that the shipment was yet to occur. In other words, it suggests that the recording was made prior to the event itself. The Cobalt report also confirms that Dunks was a person of interest prior to the 8th October 2004, when the public hearing commenced. This was also the date on which Schapelle Corby flew to Bali.
A New South Wales Crime Commission hearing, to which William Moss was called, also confirmed the contents of the recording.
This was a private conversation between William Miller, and the person he stated had given him the airport job, in which they discuss that very collection.
The New South Wales Crime Commission clearly recognized that the conversation, and de facto, Dunks himself, corroborated William Miller‟s account.
They stated clearly that this “supported this assertion”.
“This matter has been followed up with Warren Grey from the AFP”
The AFP was, therefore, aware of the existence of this potentially critical new evidence, as of July 2005, at the latest.
But again, neither they, nor the New South Wales Crime Commission, including its Commissioner, ever notified Schapelle Corby or her family.
[The Sydney Airport Proposition]
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Yet again, potentially vital evidence was wilfully withheld by parties in Australia, even though Schapelle Corby was still in the appeal process, and desperate to present alternative scenarios.
The AFP again played a central and pivotal role in depriving Schapelle Corby of evidence.
[Source Propositions]
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3. SOURCE PROPOSITIONS
Over the years, a number of claims have been made with respect to the original source of the marijuana. This section examines detailed propositions with respect to Queensland, Victoria, and South America.
3.1 THE SUE AFFAIR
3.1.1 BACKGROUND
In June 2011, a professional counsellor approached a legal supporter of Schapelle Corby, Kerry Smith-Douglas, to recount a situation which unfolded in October 2004.
She told the lawyer that she could no longer remain silent, and that she was prepared to make a statement on record. She agreed to make a formal Statutory Declaration, which carries serious legal consequences should it subsequently be shown to be false.
An image of the Statutory Declaration is produced below:
[Source Propositions]
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I Xxxxxx of Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx in the state of Queensland do honestly and sincerely declare that:
In mid October 2004 I began a brief relationship with a man named Xxxxxx (real name unknown).
Xxxxxx worked as a baggage handler at Brisbane airport. One day during our relationship we had a conversation about people who worked there. During this conversation Xxxxxx talked about his work mates and their cannabis use.
Xxxxxx told me about one of the workers (an Indian man) who bought a very large bag of Cannabis to work one day. He told me that the guy opened the bag and had it sitting to one side. He then told me that the man was chopping some of the weed up in a dish. Xxxxxx said that when another man showed up one of the other guys told the man that the supervisor was on his way down to them.
Xxxxxx told me that the guy with the Cannabis panicked and hid the bag of cannabis in the first bag he could find. The bags belonged to travellers on the plane flights. At the time he told me I thought this story was amusing and dismissed it as I did not think of the consequences. This day I‟ve talked about would have been early October 2004 as Xxxxxx had only been in the job a short while. When I first heard of Schapelle Corby‟s arrest I did not connect it to the story Xxxxxx told me. I did not think about it until there was mention of possible baggage handler involvement.
Over the years I have often thought of the possibility of it being the same bag Schapelle was arrested with. I did not say anything at the time because I was not sure and did not want to get anyone into trouble. The more details I have read of Schapelle‟s arrest the more I suspected it was the same bag that the Indian man put the Cannabis in. I still did not say anything as I began to fear the consequences. I am not involved with drugs and I did not want to become a target for drug related people.
Last year I saw a picture on the internet of the bag of Cannabis which was in Schapelle‟s possession. When I saw it, I thought it looked just like the bag of Cannabis Xxxxxx told me about. Since then I have felt even more so, that it may be the same bag.
After reading about the pressures Schapelle is under my conscience has made me decide to finally come forward with this information.
I would like to state that I do not know Schapelle Corby, her family, or any of her friends and I do not have a criminal history.
And I make this sworn declaration conscientiously declaring the same to be true, and by virtue of the
Provisions of the Oath‟s Act 1867.
[Source Propositions]
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To protect her identity and privacy, she was given the code name of „Sue‟. The news broke to the media at the end of June:
[Source Propositions]
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3.1.2 THE AFP
The AFP‟s reaction was, essentially, one of evasion. They refused to comment, other than to state that they had no intention of investigating anything unless Schapelle Corby‟s family made a formal request.
This was, of course, extremely difficult, as Schapelle Corby was, and is, awaiting the outcome of a clemency application in Indonesia, which is based largely upon humanitarian need.
The AFP were well aware that direct association with claims of this nature could be viewed negatively in Jakarta, with disastrous consequences.
They knew that Mercedes Corby was in no position to proceed with such a complaint.
However, Kerry Smith-Douglas, and Sue, took the initiative, and went directly to the AFP‟s offices. Sue made a formal statement, with the most pertinent points copied below:
[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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3.1.3 THE FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE
Again, Sue waited with expectation for the AFP to progress the complaint, but to no avail.
In August 2011, the Hidden World Research Group traced Sue and approached her directly. She agreed to support a more proactive approach and was flown to Brisbane to locate the home of her former boyfriend.
Despite many changes to the area since 2004, the building was identified, and was still occupied by his family.
The address and details were subsequently passed on to the still dormant AFP, both directly by Sue, and by the Hidden World Research Group, via an intermediary.
At the time of production of this report, no evidence has emerged to suggest any further activity by the AFP in pursuit of this matter.
[Source Propositions]
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3.2 THE JOHN FORD AFFAIR
3.2.1 BACKGROUND
Drug smuggling through Melbourne airport was just as commonplace as at the other major Australian gateways. A similar catalogue of criminality, including of airport employees, is documented both by the media and through official reports.
The general situation, as referred to in the following report, makes for familiar reading:
[Source Propositions]
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Prior to the onset of the hostile media agenda, the Herald Sun provided some further information to Mercedes Corby:
[Source Propositions]
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This presented the background in which John Ford volunteered his information regarding a failed drug syndication operation.
[Source Propositions]
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3.2.2 JOHN FORD
John Ford told his story to the Hidden World Research Group, as follows:
MELBOURNE CUSTODY CENTRE & PORT PHILLIP PRISON
I was remanded in 2004, met an inmate in the Melb Custody Centre who was arrested on QLD drug warrants and was pilled off his head. He was to be extradited to QLD. About 6 months later I met him in port Phillip Prison, back in jail again (him not me), and the dealing was still going on. Then I heard about Schapelle after I'd moved to another unit. I really did not care at the time, believing drug runners deserve everything they get.
In the course of moving about the jail (still on remand) I heard 2 guys talking about this inmate and Schapelle, about things not in the media. I still did not care. About a fortnight later I heard more on TV and, my God!!!, It was too coincidental and uncannily accurate as to the details I'd heard. So I just about turned myself inside out trying to get this info to her reps.
I also knew of a practice called 'backloading' in the transport industries where any person could put things into planes, trucks, etc between Melb and Brisbane for a favour or a few beers. In addition I'd learned of such practices in drug smuggling to avoid the NSW police checks over the QLD border.
What was apparently supposed to happen was that the marijuana was put on the plane in Brissie, to be removed in Sydney. On the same day the fed police ran a raid in the Sydney airport and oddly, no video footage of secured areas is available. As a consequence, as I understand it, poor Schapelle's bag was not 'emptied out' and the drugs flew on to Bali.
Subsequent media releases and facts have shown my assertions of organised drug dealing from within prison to be true (and that‟s not the half of what goes on).
In addition the Balinese police who spoke to me did not believe Schapelle to be a drug runner. At worst, as one senior officer told me, she should only be guilty of possession as the drugs were found in her bag. There was, according to him, NO evidence of dealing.
There are a lot of other factors here too... about what I was 'told' I could and could not talk about in Indonesian court, by both Australian authorities and Indonesians... about what I was threatened with if I said the 'wrong' thing.. remembering that the Bali nine were under surveillance at this time too and I had been in Bali twice before (many years ago) and had learnt a bit about organised crime there. Funny that. "
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"I met Xxxxxxx in the Melbourne Custody Centre - he was to be extradited to QLD on drug matters. He was planning 'deals' then too. Some months later he came back to Melb (port Phillip) and was involved in dealing within the prison (marijuana, pills, methadone, buprenorphine, etc..). The inmates talking about him were known to me (sharing cell time on court trips etc) and it was no surprise to hear about him dealing/arranging deals interstate - having apparently arranged contacts whilst in QLD.
I cannot be deadly accurate about his details or the facts (finer details) of his assertions but it all fits together with what I experienced and learnt in jail. East coast prisons are a mainline dealing contact, recruitment and communications network. Some other inmates had spoken to me about Xxxxxxx after I'd mentioned I'd been with him in the custody centre, and nothing diminishes my beliefs.
Whilst I think about this...the Federal Police told me never to mention a Murray Perrier (think that‟s spelt right) who notably used the same methods of 'smuggling' contraband inside and outside Australia, to the Indonesians, and esp, as at the same time he was still awaiting trial - the excuse was that if I said something it could prejudice his case (for? or against?) and I'd be facing charges if I did. This was at least one of the things I wanted to talk to Schapelle's reps about too. I'd met him on a court escort as a mainstream prisoner and he didn‟t shut up about his case.
The other connecting fact here was that he mentioned a QLD contact, also mentioned by Xxxxxxx and the two who spoke about him 'bragging' whose name I just cannot recall… just to add weight to what I heard..I also spent some time with a drug cook from QLD, who was paroled back to QLD for protection reasons, who thought I was spot on about Schapelle‟s plight.
If I was totally wrong no one would have bothered."
ADDITIONAL MELBOURNE CUST CENTRE & PORT PHILLIP PRISON
"Ok… I remember the name of one the guys speaking about Xxxxxxx and his claims about involvement with the drugs… Paul, and the other I can‟t recall but both were named in my statements.
Also, and this never came out during Schapelle‟s trial… another inmate made a statement to the AFP verifying the events around how I came to hear the information.
I don‟t know who that was though, and I think it was much later when he came forward. I'd think Vvvvvvv didn‟t want to ask Xxxxxxx too much due to his own involvement in certain things (so I heard later on the jail grapevine, and from a QLD source). That was something I was told in confidence by a drug cook turned crown witness who I recall was paroled back to QLD for safety reasons. I think I've mentioned this already."
[Source Propositions]
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BALI 2005
"I was told, in Indonesia, by an AFP person (or so I believe) not to talk about Perrier, or things I'd seen in Bali or learnt about drug smuggling (particularly heroin) to the Court. He was accompanied to my cell by an Indonesian officer. I didn‟t get a name.
I do remember later that day the consul and the security escort visiting me for about 10 minutes and wanting to know who'd seen me. I was threatened that if I talked about more than I was there for I might be charged with perverting the course of justice back in Australia as Perrier‟s trial and other matters would be compromised. I didn‟t know then that the Bali nine were under surveillance.
When I was first taken from Australian custody (soon as I stepped off the plane) I was taken to the lockup and kept in an office till the Aussies caught up with where I was (I was still in their handcuffs!!). An officer (who interviewed me twice I recall) told me that if I spoke about heroin or anything else in court (or even trafficking from Java to Bali which I'd known about) I'd get 7 years jail there.
The comment about 7 years jail was repeated by the Judge almost at the start of my testimony as a reminder I think. I remember the words were that if he thought I was lying I'd get 7 years jail in Bali. I was under no misconception that he was reiterating the police threat, due to the way in which it was delivered to me. I was still unhappy that Schapelle‟s reps weren‟t interested!
Later on the local drug squad chief (I think) commended me on my co-operation, and made again the comment he didn‟t believe Schapelle was a drug trafficker. I got a mattress as a reward I guess."
RETURN TO AUSTRALIA
After coming back to Aust. I was put into solitary for 3 days in the punishment regime of Charlotte unit. This was at AFP recommendation for my safety. Then I was placed back into Sirius East - a small segregation unit for various reasons (crown witnesses, inmates of high risk to general prison population etc).
A few weeks later, after some various 'incidents' and frequent threats I was in the small exercise yard. There was a lot of distraction and I felt a serious 'pat' on the back a few times. I went back to my cell, found I'd been slashed and did my best to cover it up, thinking if that‟s the worst I get then I can live with it.
[Source Propositions]
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2 days later during a strip search at visits (I had visits in mainstream times as 'protection' times put me at risk) the wounds were found. I was taken to security etc etc… and returned straight back to the unit. Within 10 minutes I was attacked again and then put immediately back into solitary for a couple of months. The vicpol prison squad only found out thru the media and when they saw me weeks later threatened to punch the shit out of me (quote) if they had me at a police station rather than at the prison.
After solitary I was put (for my own good apparently) into the IDS unit - a large unit of intellectually disabled inmates of varying levels of incapacity. This lasted 14 months with no normal (as such) human interaction. I was told by a reliable source only early last year in Ararat Jail that my first assailant was telling inmates there he was paid to stab me. That‟s it in a nutshell. I expect it will catch up on me again, but that‟s not today‟s worry, not the point of why I'm here now.
The route of the marijuana, as described, is illustrated by the following diagram:
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Relevant extracts from one of John Ford‟s statements to the AFP are provided below:
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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Images of Mr Ford‟s formal witness declarations are produced below:
[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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DFAT‟s internal summary of Mr Ford‟s testimony at the Bali trial was as follows:
[Source Propositions]
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3.2.3 THIRD PARTY CORROBORATION
John Ford‟s testimony was corroborated by another prisoner. The prisoner known as „Paul‟ came forward and made the following supportive statement:
[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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3.2.4 THE UNIQUE FLIGHT DELAY PATTERN
As documented in Section 3.3.5, all but two flights departing from Sydney International Airport on 8th October 2004, when Schapelle Corby was in transit, were delayed by at least 18 minutes. The delays began within 20 minutes of her luggage reaching the baggage make up area, and continued until shortly after her flight left at 11:12 am.
Only two flights, QFA2 and MAS6210, were not delayed during this period. The destination of both was Melbourne.
It has been suggested that this was caused by a frantic search for a missing bag of marijuana, and that the Melbourne flights were not affected because Melbourne was known to be the source.
3.2.5 THE AFP
Whilst AFP Commissioner Keelty‟s infamous public statements falsely dismissed any idea of baggage handlers using innocent people to traffic drugs, the Hidden World Research Group has since discovered that he also enthusiastically dismissed Mr Ford‟s evidence to government ministers.
See the report „Exceptions At Australian Airports With Respect To The Schapelle Corby Case‟ for information on this, and on Keelty‟s wider hostility and disturbing conduct with respect to Schapelle Corby.
3.2.6 CLOSING NOTES
Mr Ford himself has remained steadfast and consistent throughout, with respect to his information.
It is also worthy of note that this proposition compliments, rather than contradicts, the proposition documented in Section 3.1 (The „Sue‟ Affair), as Brisbane Airport forms a constituent part of the route.
Both of these propositions compliment, rather than contradict, the Sydney Airport proposition (Section 2).
[Source Propositions]
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3.3. OPERATION MOCHA
This section is an extract from the report “Exceptions At Australian Airports With Respect To The Schapelle Corby Case” (i.e. The Transit Report). The complete report can be obtained free of charge from the Expendable website.
3.3.1 INTRODUCTION
The following provides a background and overview:
[Source Propositions]
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[Source Propositions]
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In a nutshell, there was a major drug smuggling operation in the airport, involving corrupt baggage handlers, at exactly the time Schapelle Corby and her boogie-board bag passed through. This was at exactly the same time and in exactly the same baggage make up area.
Or from a different perspective, whilst corrupt baggage handlers were in the process of smuggling drugs, Schapelle Corby's boogie-board bag appeared, and what subsequently unfolded was, no CCTV footage, missing screening records, and ultimately, even the police who were supposed to be investigating, convicted on corruption charges. And, of course, 4.2kg of marijuana in a boogie-board bag in Bali, and a 20 year sentence for Schapelle Corby.
It has been proposed that the marijuana was also imported into Australia, and was contained within a second bag, which was being carried but which disappeared.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
In response to a parliamentary question, Attorney General Philip Ruddock described this situation as follows: "Upon arrival at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport, (SKSA) luggage containing narcotics was diverted by a baggage handler prior to an Australian Customs Service examination. The narcotics were then supplied to members of the syndicate".
He further stated that: "The corrupt behaviour was discovered when a human source approached the NSWCC in December 2004 and provided details of the methods used by the syndicate to import drugs through the airport. The human source was told this information sometime after June 2004".
It has been speculated that the source came forward when he or she became aware of Schapelle Corby's situation in Bali.
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AIRPORT LAYOUT
The following is an image of the layout of Sydney International Airport:
LAN801 is the flight upon which the cocaine arrived, whilst AO7829 is the number of the flight Schapelle Corby took to Bali.
The Daily Telegraph explained the situation as follows:
Both bags were taken from the LAN801 stand to the baggage make up area, where, like Schapelle Corby's, they were managed by the corrupt baggage handler crew.
A Brisbane man, identified in court as Gary Macdonald, checked two bags on to a flight from Argentina on October 8, 2004 -- but, while he arrived home, his bags did not. A police informant later revealed baggage handlers were paid to remove the bags in Sydney before Customs could inspect them.
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3.3.2 A QUESTION OF TIMING
The situation becomes even starker if we examine the actual timings.
The boogie-board bag was placed into baggage canister DQF60342QF at Pier C at 08.18, having been hauled from Pier B on a trolley. This would have placed it at the Pier B scanning area perhaps 5-10 minutes earlier, circa 8:08 - 08:13.
LAN801, carrying the two bags, one of which held the cocaine, landed at 07:50, docking at Gate 35 for unloading at circa 8:00. The first pieces of baggage would typically arrive at the baggage make up area five minutes later, at around 8:05.
The timing to suggest interaction could hardly be more perfect.
Schapelle Corby's boogie-board bag and the two incoming suspect drug bags were almost certainly in exactly the same place at exactly the same time, in an area being managed by corrupt baggage handlers.
The undeniable fact is that the second bag from LAN801 was never seen again, whilst 4.2kg of marijuana was present in Schapelle Corby's bag when she collected it in Bali... the same bag which was unrecorded on the SACL screening system, to which the same baggage handlers were responsible for submitting.
What followed was a series of arrests, dismissals, and the inevitable PR operation on behalf of SACL, Qantas and the government.
As earlier sections have revealed, what also followed was the withholding of vital information and data, by a number of parties whose interests were directly or indirectly threatened.
For Schapelle Corby, the outcome was devastating.
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3.3.3 GOVERNMENT CORRESPONDENCE
The government were well aware of this situation. Indeed, under the weight of public opinion, they sent the following letter to Schapelle Corby's lawyers in May 2005:
This clearly acknowledged the situation, and confirmed their awareness of the alarming developments.
Despite this, when the public relations crisis had passed just a few weeks later, they didn't inform Schapelle Corby of critical new evidence which directly related to it (see The Transit Report).
It also proved to be increasingly difficult for Schapelle Corby‟s lawyers to obtain any information or data from them at all, on any of the relevant issues.
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3.3.4 PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS
Efforts to extract information in Parliament, by John Murphy MP, were also unsuccessful:
Written question by John Murphy MP:
Have inquiries been undertaken by (a) the AFP, (b) any government department, (c) Sydney Airport Corporation Limited or (d) any other organisation to (i) establish whether the baggage-handler had acted in unison with other individuals, (ii) ascertain whether there have been other incidents or allegations of corrupt or irregular behaviour by employees of any organisation, the workplace of which is located at Sydney International Airport, within those premises and (iii) establish preventative measures to avert future occurrences of corrupt or irregular conduct involving narcotics at Sydney International Airport; if so, what were the findings, conclusions and recommendations of each inquiry; if no inquiries have been conducted, why not.
Response by Attorney General Philip Ruddock:
(a) Yes.
(b) I cannot comment if other government departments made enquiries.
(c) I cannot comment if the Sydney Airport Corporation Limited made enquires.
(d) I cannot comment if any other organisations made enquiries.
(i) Evidence will likely be presented in court that persons had contact at SKSA. They may have been Qantas baggage handlers or other staff and they are not specifically identified in the brief of evidence. As this matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment any further.
(ii) I am unable to provide that information.
(iii) I am unable to provide that information.
These responses provided far less information than was already available within the public domain, for example, via the following media report (extract):
The Daily Telegraph: April 06, 2006
SECURITY cameras in the baggage handling area of Sydney airport have been repeatedly tampered with, raising fresh questions about a string of drug cases and the threat of terrorism. Sydney Labor MP John Murphy –who revealed the scandal to The Daily Telegraph – claimed the security breach cast fresh doubt on the guilt of convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby.
It could also have potential implications for other drug matters in recent years, including Operation Mocha in which a syndicate allegedly ran $30 million in cocaine through the airport with the help of corrupt baggage handlers.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal two cameras inside the baggage handling unit were sabotaged on three occasions between October 2004 and May 2005. In answers to questions on notice submitted in Parliament by Mr Murphy, Customs Minister Chris Ellison confirmed the cameras had been deliberately disabled.
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"The customs maintenance provider of its CCTV cameras at Sydney International Airport has been required to adjust two of customs' CCTV cameras in the baggage make-up area of the airport on three occasions between October 2004 and May 2005" Senator Ellison said. "These adjustments were required to correct the field of view following reports from customs' control room operators that cameras were pointing in the wrong direction."
The cameras are used to monitor the behavior of baggage handlers as they sift through luggage behind the airport's check. The new revelations come after an internal customs report in September 2004 that revealed large-scale corruption among baggage handlers and other airport staff.
"Intelligence from other law enforcement agencies suggests some Asian-recruited Qantas crew may be involved in narcotics," the report found. The report also revealed baggage handlers would divert bags containing drugs from incoming international flights to domestic carousels so they would not be checked.
.
Mr Murphy said the security breach was most relevant to the Corby case and urged her lawyers to act in the light of the new developments.
"I am sure Schapelle Corby and her legal team would like to know when the first breach occurred and how long it took to be brought to the attention of the Customs Minister," Mr Murphy said yesterday.
.
"Anyone working in this area could have put heroin in a passenger's luggage at either the domestic or international airport at Sydney and that person would never know."
The same applied to the leader of the parliamentary opposition at the time, Kim C Beazley MP, whose paper, A Nation Unprepared, reported the following in August 2005:
Then, following all that, the emergence of the extraordinary classified Customs report which was completed in September 2004 but only made public when it was leaked to a newspaper earlier this year. It revealed shocking security breaches at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport.
The report identified dangerous holes such as:
- passengers’ baggage containing large amounts of narcotics being diverted to domestic carousels to avoid Customs inspections;
- 39 security screeners out of 500 employed at the airport have serious criminal convictions, with a further 39 convicted of minor matters;
- theft by airport employees from baggage and aircraft duty free trolleys;
- engineers with unauthorised duplicate keys; and
- black spots not under surveillance in the airport’s basement corridors that are used as drug drop off points.
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3.3.5 THE FLIGHT DELAY PATTERN
All but two flights departing Sydney International Airport on 8th October 2004, when Schapelle Corby was in transit, were delayed by at least 18 minutes. The delays began within 20 minutes of her luggage reaching the baggage make up area, and continued until shortly after her flight left at 11:12 am.
It is suggested that the sequence of delays of so many consecutive international flights may be partially related to problems with baggage handling, and potentially a desperate search for 4.2kg of marijuana. An alternative suggestion is that the delays themselves may have caused take-off orders to change, and thus difficulties with the planned transfers of incoming drugs.
This diagram illustrates the overall pattern of delays for 8th October 2004 (calculated on the differential from the earliest departure time for each flight in the research period). The bottom of each rectangular bar represents the arrival time of the aircraft at Sydney, whilst the top of the bar represents the earliest/scheduled departure time for that flight. The top of each 'wick' (or line extending from the top of each bar) shows the actual departure time. Thus the length of wick shows the delay for that flight.
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The pattern of delays beginning at approx 08:38 is clear from the extended length of wick for subsequent flights. The following diagram represents a closer view of that period.
Only two local flights to Melbourne, QFA2 and MAS6210, were not delayed during this period.
Note that the non-delay of these flights provides an interesting alignment with the proposition documented in Section 3.2.
All international flights were delayed. The delay times are as follows:
ANZ142
Wellington
29
QFA47
Wellington
52
HVN782
Ho Chi Minh City
31
AAR602
Seoul
92
ANZ102
Auckland
51
MAS6210
Melbourne
0
ANZ182
Christchurch
44
FOM410
Palmerston
56
EVA312
Taipei
48
QFA2
Melbourne
0
QFA149
Los Angeles
23
LAN800
Auckland
30
QFA25
Brisbane
102
PBI42
Wellington
41
QFA127
Hong Kong
18
QFA119
Auckland
38
ACA034
Honolulu
55
QFA107
Los Angeles
25
QFA123
Mumbai
110
QFA3
Honolulu
46
PRZ063
Denpasar
32
JAL772
Tokyo
48
AUZ7829
Denpasar
57
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No other sequence of delays, even remotely resembling this pattern, was found during analysis of a significant period spanning before and after 8th October 2004. Note that the weather was good, and there was no industrial action.
[Research & analysis: Dr Adrian Bradford, Perth]
3.3.6 CLOSING NOTES
It cannot be disputed that the probability of Schapelle Corby's boogie-board bag, and the two incoming suspect drug bags, passing through exactly the same make up area at exactly the same time, through sheer random chance, is extremely low indeed.
Nor can it be disputed that this area was being managed by corrupt baggage handlers.
The second bag from LAN801 has neither been located, nor explained, to this day.
Equally, the whole raft of new evidence regarding Schapelle Corby‟s boogie-board bag is supportive of the proposition. For example, it was the only bag unrecorded on the SACL screening system.
The blatant unwillingness of the government of the time to engage openly and transparently, even when pressed from within parliament, itself raises many questions, not least with respect to the role of the Minister for Justice and Customs, Christopher Ellison, and the commercial sensitivity of the issue for SACL in particular.
[Summary]
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4. SUMMARY
In some respects this report represents a surface scratch on the situation at Australian airports circa 8th October 2004. The airports were simply awash with drugs, with large scale syndication being rife. Official reports confirm this, as do media reports, and as does the never ending anecdotal evidence of those working in sensitive locations.
Accounts from those involved in drug crime at the time, or in contact with those involved in crime, all paint exactly the same picture.
Other reports in The Expendable Project series cover different aspects of this, and illustrate that the AFP were well aware of the immense scale of the problem.
Indeed, they had even been in receipt of the Kessing Reports, some months prior to AFP Commissioner Keelty‟s false and hugely damaging media statement, just prior to the verdict in Schapelle Corby‟s Bali trial: "There is very little intelligence to suggest that baggage handlers are using innocent people to traffic heroin or other drugs between states".
The assertion that this constituted the wilful sabotage of Schapelle Corby‟s defence, to deflect attention from the open criminality at Australian airports, is outside the scope of this particular report. However, there can be no doubt that the specific cases of corruption, identified throughout this report, were also broadly known to the police prior to that statement being made.
NON-INVESTIGATION
In terms of the police investigation of the allegations documented in previous sections, this was at best, thin, and in some cases, did not occur at all. Indeed, the eagerness of the AFP to dismiss them is all too clear, as demonstrated through a number of exhibits presented in other Expendable Project Reports.
Yet the accounts are broadly supported, not only through circumstantial evidence, but in a number of cases, by events which the central figures could not have known anything about. Furthermore, the accounts broadly complement, rather than contradict, each other, and a number are corroborated by independent third parties.
But the Australian police and authorities have expended the absolute minimum of resources and effort to investigate what are extremely serious allegations and crimes. In most instances, they have failed to take even the basic steps employed by the Hidden World Research Group in seeking to identify the truth. The terminology and language evident within internal correspondence and documentation suggests a complete lack of will to undertake any serious investigation at all.
[Summary]
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SCHAPELLE CORBY
The most important factor of all, however, is that it is patently clear that the marijuana found in Schapelle Corby‟s boogie-board bag in Bali could have been placed by a large number of individuals, in a multitude of different locations.
Accounts, and supporting evidence for such placement, have been forthcoming with respect to at least four airports. In addition, multiple drug syndicates have been shown to have been operating in all four.
Furthermore, it is also known that at least one drug syndicate was active on exactly the same day, at exactly the same time, and in exactly the same place, as Schapelle Corby‟s bag, as it passed through Sydney on 8th October 2004.
Yet, consistent with the other reports in The Expendable Project series, the Australian authorities have shown little or no interest in pursuing any of this. Rather, they have proactively and demonstrably sought to suppress information revealing the true extent of the criminality at the airports and within key institutions.
Further, they have wilfully adopted this position in full knowledge of the terrible consequences for Schapelle Corby herself.
“The Australian Federal Police (AFP), Qantas, and Sydney airport knew almost from day one that they had strong, compelling information that might help to back up my story. But they also realised that this piece of information was far more sinister and frightening than the issue of lax security.”
“I was a fly in the ointment. Apart from scaring people with my story, I was putting Australia‟s busiest international airport in the firing line.” ~ Schapelle Corby 2005
© The Hidden World Research Group
