Briton In Thai Prison Fighting Australian Extradition For Nearly A Year

[sriracha john]

Guilt a matter of interpretation

JAMES Henry Kinch says he would rather endure months or even years more in Bangkok's notorious Klong Prem prison than return to Australia, where he trusts neither the police nor the judicial system but is wanted as an accused and a witness. Along with one-time NSW Crime Commission assistant director Mark Standen, Kinch was charged by Australian authorities last year with conspiring to import 600kg of pseudoephedrine (used to make the drug ice) into Australia.

Arrested in Bangkok on May 31 last year, two days before Standen and a third man, food importer Bill Jalalaty, were picked up by the Australian Federal Police in Sydney, the pugnacious Kinch decided to stand his ground and resist any attempts to get him back to Australia. He has been resisting ever since.

Yesterday he appeared again in Bangkok's Central Criminal Court, the latest in a series of extradition hearings that have been under way for months, always with an AFP officer in the back of the court, watching the proceedings.

In his first interview with the media since his arrest, and the first he or his alleged co-conspirators have granted to a journalist, Kinch tells Inquirer he will not surrender to Australian pressure.

Kinch, 50, who in the past has been arrested in Australia on drugs charges and admits he has served time in a British jail for armed robbery, says the accusations are rubbish, fabricated by the Australian authorities to justify an expensive two-year investigation that went nowhere. "They spent two years bugging calls, offices, email. They had to justify that in the end. There's nothing there; nobody was doing anything. They couldn't back down, the AFP," he says.

He grimaces, saying he knew Standen but he wasn't a close friend, adding that he would never do anything as stupid as smuggle drugs in cahoots with a senior cop or with Jalalaty, a businessman he has described in unflattering terms. "What kind of lunatic would I be? To trust the deputy of the Crime Commission, and Jalalaty, who I've described as a Mr Bean, a Walter Mitty character. It's one big farce. It's been one thing after another. I didn't even know what pseudoephedrine was until this."

Kinch admits he supplied $1.7 million to Jalalaty to establish a food importing business but denies the money had anything to do with setting up a front for drug importations. "I was trying to do straight things, legal things," he says. "The guy lost the money, that's the end of that."

The case against Kinch, Jalalaty and Standen, who was a former AFP officer as well as being a senior Crime Commission investigator, exploded white-hot last year: a serving senior officer allegedly caught conspiring to smuggle illegal drugs on a vast scale. Standen was a trusted insider with a working knowledge of organised crime in Australia. And now he was accused of conspiring with the enemy.

The nearly simultaneous arrests in Australia, Thailand, the Netherlands and Germany nearly 12 months ago were the culmination of a year-long inquiry. AFP agents and Dutch investigators tapped phones, dipped into emails and monitored drug shipments from as far away as Congo.

Standen has been accused of meeting Kinch, described as a "crucial middleman" with alleged connections to a Dutch drug ring, and Jalalaty in Dubai in 2007 to plot the drug importation. Kinch was allegedly the link to the Netherlands drug syndicate, something he flatly denies. The 600kg of pseudoephedrine, enough to make $120million worth of methamphetamine, or ice, were allegedly intended to arrive in Australia in a container sent from Pakistan and destined for Jalalaty's food import business. The container duly arrived. It was searched. Nothing was found.

Kinch will not talk about anything that may or may not have happened in Dubai, and he says the reason no drugs were found in the container is simply because the drugs never existed, not because they were offloaded somewhere. Standen's lawyer, Gordon Elliot, asked an AFP officer at his client's committal in Sydney last month whether a microscopic examination had been conducted of the container's contents to determine whether minute traces of the drug indicated it had once been present. He says he was told an examination had been done and no traces were found.

Lawyers for the commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions stalled two days into Standen's committal in February. The magistrate granted an adjournment until next Friday, April 3. "The commonwealth DPP stood up in court and said they don't have the evidence they need," Elliot says. "It appears they don't have the evidence in relation to Mr Standen or Mr Kinch."

Elliot says his client's committal may be dismissed if the prosecutors fail to come up with the evidence on Friday, nearly a year after the arrest of his client. The Crown evidence already runs to 8000 pages, but Kinch insists he and his alleged co-conspirators never mentioned drugs. "It's all interpretation," he says.

The dismissal of Standen's committal could have an immediate effect on Australia's lengthy attempts to extradite Kinch from Thailand. In a statement, the DPP says Standen's committal hearing was adjourned to allow for "the receipt of relevant evidentiary material in admissible form", adding that the length of the adjournment was partly determined by court availability. The statement went on: "The timing of the proceedings against Mr Standen is unrelated to the timing of any proceedings against Mr Kinch."

The British entrepreneur with the greying crew cut has no faith in Australian justice and firmly believes every effort will be made to extradite him, regardless of whether there's "relevant evidentiary material" or not. He is doing everything he can to thwart Australia's bid to haul him back to Sydney. "I'm charged with him (Standen). It's to put the pressure on me so that I would incriminate him, which I've refused to do."

Kinch and his Thai lawyer, Prachaya Vijitpokin, have fought his case for months, since soon after his arrest last May, and it largely has been a matter of contesting documentary evidence supplied by Australia.

The Australian extradition request is not only for the charge of conspiring to import drugs last year but also forcharges first brought in 2003, relating to an alleged attempt to import one tonne of ecstasy in plant-pot bases. Kinch was detained, but the NSW Crime Commission reportedly then withdrew the brief of evidence. Kinch was later named as one of Standen's informants.

"The DPP, not Mark Standen, dropped the charges," says Kinch, who adds he did not know Standen until after the 2003 charges were dropped. "Then they did me for overstaying my visa. I didn't know Mark Standen until well after my arrest. I had no meetings with him until I was acquitted." He insists it's ridiculous to resuscitate charges that he says were dead and buried six years ago. "Any evidence, they had it at that time. There was no new evidence. There's nothing."

Vijitpokin says he is doing battle with a Thai prosecutor assigned to fight the case to extradite Kinch, after the foreign ministry passed on the documents from the Australian Government. Extradition cases typically take at least a year, often two or more, in Thailand and bail is automatically refused. "There are many cases in Thailand," he says. "We cannot rush the case." Vijitpokin recently visited Australia and spoke with Kinch's Sydney solicitor, William O'Brien, who declined to comment to Inquirer.

Kinch says he has been served with a "seizure of assets" form, and transcripts of bugged conversations. "They served the papers on me; transcripts of my conversations with Mark Standen. They hoped I would crack, that I would then decide to join their side," he says. "The problem is, if I win my case, they'll appeal. That'll be another year. They had me for a year from 2003 to 2004. It's almost another year now. I'm a loser all the way around. I can never win. It would be easier to go to Australia, but it's the principle of the matter."

He says the pressure from Australia never lets up. Friends who visit him in Thailand have been followed by mysterious Australians, he says, and since his bank accounts have been frozen he has had to survive on the goodwill of friends and relatives.

In Australia, the ramifications of the arrest of Standen are still echoing through the legal system. Last month, in the District Court in Sydney, the AFP agreed that lawyers representing an accused drug dealer, who was arrested after a sting led by Standen, could see the evidence that will be used against the former senior officer.

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometres away in the Netherlands, 14 suspects also arrested in connection with the 2008 alleged attempted importation to Australia wait for their trials to begin. Allegedly from the drugs ring linked to Kinch, they will appear in court again for a pre-trial hearing on April 10, according to a spokeswoman for the National Public Prosecutor's Office in Rotterdam, who says she expects the trials to begin in October this year, and a verdict by November. "We want to prosecute them all," she adds. The Dutch evidence already runs to 50,000 pages and the Australian brief will be added to the pile.

Several of these 14 defendants, according to Dutch lawyers, also were connected to the earlier investigation in which Kinch was allegedly central to the attempted importation of a tonne of ecstasy into Australia in pot-plant bases. He was arrested in 2005 in connection with this alleged plot. But Kinch says it's obvious he has no charge to answer in connection with the 2005 case because nearly all the Dutch defendants were acquitted. Yet Dutch lawyers say appeals (by the prosecution) are pending by a court in Arnhem. Kinch is apparently expected to be a witness for the defence.

Dutch police reportedly have said they could have charged Kinch in connection with the 2007-08 investigation, codenamed Mayer, but they decided to leave the carriage of his case to Australia. Kinch denies that. "The Netherlands police have said that I'm not a suspect in this case. It's all designed to get me." He says the actions of the Australian authorities are highly suspect and he has written letters of complaint to international human rights bodies.

He says the translation of various documents has been incorrect, elevating suspicion to fact. He cites one example, where he says a phrase "believed to contain drugs" has been translated as "did contain drugs".

"If I was given a fair trial here, I'd win. But there's far too much interference from the Australian embassy. They sent a representative from the embassy, from the AFP, but he wouldn't testify. They don't want to answer any awkward questions. It's a farce."

- The Australian / 2009-03-28

[sriracha john]

Man sought by Australia James Kinch appears in Bangkok court

BAREFOOT and in shackles, James Henry Kinch shuffled into a Bangkok court yesterday to testify for the first time in his long-running battle with Australian authorities.

The British self-described "investor and financial advisor" has been accused of conspiring with former NSW Crime Commission assistant director Mark Standen to bring enough pseudo-ephedrine into Australia to make $120 million worth of the illegal drug ice.

Mr Kinch, 50, was arrested in Thailand in May last year and has retained lawyers in Thailand, Britain, Australia, and The Netherlands to help fight Australia's extradition request.

In his first media interview since his arrest, he told The Weekend Australian he would never surrender to Australian pressure. "I'm charged with him (Standen)," said Mr Kinch, who is accused of being a crucial link to a high-level Dutch drugs syndicate.

"It's to put the pressure on me so that I would incriminate him, which I've refused to do. How can I receive a fair trial in Australia? The rubbish that's been in the press."

Australia has been trying to extradite Mr Kinch from Thailand since the middle of last year. Australian police also want to question him again over the alleged attempt in 2003 to import one tonne of ecstasy into Australia.

Mr Kinch said it was ridiculous to resuscitate charges that he says were dead and buried six years ago. "Any evidence, they had it at that time. There was no new evidence. There's nothing."

He expects his case to drag on in Thailand, where he has been refused bail.

"I'll be here for another year or two," Mr Kinch said. "There was one extradition case that took seven years."

The committal hearing for Standen resumes in Sydney on April 3.

- The Australian / 2009-03-28

[sriracha john]

An earlier article from the time after arrest last year...

Top investigator kept in custody over drug ring

A top Australian crime investigator accused of working with a global drug trafficking ring has been remanded in custody in a Sydney court.

Mark Standen is accused of using his position as an assistant director at the New South Wales Crime Commission to give a drug syndicate based in the Netherlands privileged information.

It is alleged the 51-year-old helped in a plot to import 600 kilograms of chemicals used to make more than $120 million worth of the drug, ice.

The ship that was supposed to have the chemicals on board arrived in Australia on ANZAC day but police found nothing when they searched it.

Australian Federal Police will not say where the chemicals went.

Standen is viewed in Australia's law enforcement community as one of the best criminal investigators in the Crime Commission, which is tasked with busting drug traffickers.

The investigator did not appear in Central Local Court today after he and another man, whose wife used to work for the AFP, were arrested yesterday. Both face three serious drug charges.

The matter has been adjourned until next week, when he is expected to apply for bail.

Standen's lawyer, Paul King, says his client needs extra protection in custody because of his status.

"As I understand, he's been given that and as I said in court, I'd like to express my appreciation to those in corrective services," he said.

The investigator's co-accused, 45-year-old Bakhos Jalalaty from Maroota in north-west Sydney, did not appear at Central Local Court today either.

Jalalaty's lawyer told the magistrate he needed time to prepare a bail application given the sheer number of transcripts of phone calls the Federal Police had presented in the evidence against his client.

'Gambling problem'

Earlier today, NSW Crime Commissioner Phillip Bradley told a press conference he recently became aware Standen had a gambling problem, but he said the investigator was capable.

Commissioner Bradley said a number of cases Standen worked on would be reviewed.

He rejected calls for a royal commission, saying it was an isolated incident.

The ABC has been told the Commissioner was the only person at the NSW Crime Commission who knew Standen was being investigated.

Less than a dozen people were told the Standen had became a person of interest in May last year.

AFP Deputy Commissioner Tony Negus has defended Commissioner Bradley, saying he cooperated fully with the investigation.

"Whilst we've been examining this man and what his activities have been both in Australia and offshore, we've had the full support of the NSW Crime Commission in doing so, to allow us to collect enough evidence to present this matter to court," he said.

"Without that and without this man remaining in the position that he's in for that period of time - he'd been closely monitored, I might add - we would not have been able to bring this matter to a conclusion both here and overseas."

Extradition sought

The ABC has been told Standen was senior enough to go to monthly meetings where police chiefs spoke about some of their most important investigations into organised crime.

A source has told the ABC the drug ring he and Jalalaty allegedly worked in is described in the Netherlands as top-shelf. It is alleged to be one of the major makers and distributors of drugs like speed, ecstasy and ice.

Officers say the syndicate has been dismantled, with 12 people arrested in the Netherlands last week and a British man arrested in Bangkok.

The Irish-born Briton, James Henry Kinch, lived in Portugal and is described as a crucial middle man.

Australian authorities will ask for his extradition - a process that could take months, if not longer.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has been asked to investigate Standen.

- ABC (Australia) / June 3, 2008

[Boater]

interesting

[sriracha john]

Police to begin new inquiry into Standen

MARK STANDEN, the NSW Crime Commission officer arrested last year over his role in an alleged international drug importation syndicate, is now the subject of a Police Integrity Commission investigation.

The Herald understands that the PIC is investigating Standen's role in the handling of cash and assets confiscated from criminals. Each year the Crime Commission seizes millions of dollars in assets and properties confiscated as a result of investigations. Property can be seized without obtaining a criminal conviction if the Supreme Court finds it is more probable than not that the person has been involved in serious crime-related activities.

Last year the commission obtained forfeiture orders which netted the State Government more than $29 million. According to the commission's 2007-2008 annual report, the property forfeited included vehicles, jewellery, property, cash and funds held in bank accounts.

"The most significant single item of property forfeited during the year was the sum of [about] $11 million in cash," it said.

One of the matters under investigation by the PIC involves a boat which Standen is alleged to have sold privately several years ago. The boat, worth more than $100,000, is alleged to have been sold by Standen at half its market value. A spokesman for the PIC said the organisation was unable to comment on any investigations.

Yesterday in the NSW Court of Appeal, the convicted drug importer Malcolm Gordon Field accused Standen of fabricating a document used by the commission to seize his assets. Having already seized Field's Australian assets, the NSW Crime Commission took action in the Supreme Court in 2001 to confiscate a villa in the south of France, claiming Field had bought it with the proceeds of crime.

Twice Field refused to give evidence in the matter and last year he was sentenced to 4½ years in jail for contempt of court. Representing himself, Field told the court yesterday that on June 3 last year, the day after Standen's arrest, a Crime Commission solicitor, John Giorgiutti, visited him in jail, offering to have his sentence reduced if he gave information about Standen. Field said he rejected the offer.

Ian Temby, QC, representing the commission, told the court that Field's allegations about the restraining orders were not relevant to the appeal and that the issue related solely to his two convictions for contempt of court in refusing to give sworn evidence at examinations in August 2001 and July 2005.

In his written submission, Mr Temby stated, "The examination order had to be obeyed, even if there was something wrong with it, which has not been demonstrated."

Field's seven-year sentence for drug and passport offences concluded in January last year. He will remain in jail until 2014 for his contempt of court if his appeal is unsuccessful.

Standen was arrested in June after an investigation by the Australian Federal Police into his role in an alleged plot to import chemicals from the Netherlands to manufacture the methamphetamine ice.

On the final day of Standen's committal hearing last month, the Crown prosecutor successfully asked for more time so that documents could be obtained from the Netherlands.

These will be presented to court when Standen's committal hearing resumes next month.

- The Sydney Morning Herald / 2009-03-26

[brahmburgers]

can we try to get the posts distilled down a bit - to their most pertinent parts.

As it is, there's a lot of reading required to try and keep up with the story. Repeated news posts have a lot of repetitions. How about just posting the newer bits of info with subsequent posts on the same topic.

[sriracha john]

Returning to last year again, the accused was previously under arrest in Australia, but was released by the NSW Crime Commission (coincidentally the same organization his co-defendant was Assistant Director of) under "mysterious circumstances"...

Kingpin freed by accident from jail

THE Briton at the centre of one of the most sensitive criminal investigations ever, had been arrested about five years ago for plotting to traffic a tonne of ecstasy to Sydney, but was accidentally released by the NSW Crime Commission.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal James Henry Kinch, 49, had been living in Sydney and allegedly was involved in a number of small criminal endeavours when arrested on suspicion of plotting a major drug operation.

The plot involved importing to Australia more than one tonne of ecstasy pills hidden in a consignment of pot plants.

Some plants and pills were seized by police.

He was arrested by the NSW Crime Commission and jailed but then was released after a brief of evidence was withdrawn, in what legal sources yesterday told The Daily Telegraph were "mysterious circumstances".

Kinch immediately left the country, returning to the UK where he came to the attention of the British elite serious organised crime agency (SOCA) for suspected drug trafficking.

It was then sensationally revealed he was allegedly a NSW Crime Commission informer assisting it on other investigations.

The extent of his work remains unclear but in Europe he was well known as the go-between for Dutch-based criminals tasked with distributing synthetic and other drugs.

He acted as a go-between for another plot to smuggle drugs to Australia, with ecstasy hidden in pot plant bases.

It is understood while he was born in Ireland he lived most of his life in England, including Manchester and was jailed once for seven years for a violent armed robbery.

Australian Federal Police detectives working in operation Octans codenamed him "Echo" because it sounded like ego something of which he was always full.

The AFP has rekindled the initial police brief of evidence and together with fresh evidence have sought extradition on up to 17 charges relating to drugs trafficking.

Dutch prosecutors said yesterday they too could charge him, but agreed to allow the AFP to have carriage.

Kinch has been living in the Algarve coast in southern Portugal where he owns a nightclub.

It is understood he also owns property in Ireland. He was arrested in Thailand after being tipped off by Dutch criminals that his latest plot was unravelling and police were on to him.

Australian Federal Police agents arrested him a short time later.

He reportedly was about to board an Emirates flight to Germany.

- The Daily Telegraph (UK) / June 3, 2008

[Considered Opinion]

What is really funny, is that Kinch is quite correct. Once the AFP decide they want you, they won't give up, even after literally years of trying unsuccessfully to find a crime, since there isn't one, then they co-opt a foreign pokice force without the backing of proper lawyers, to arrest you in a foreign country.

Give it 10 minutes and they will accuse him of being a ped***ile, so he will lose his support base. Then it will be simple.

Good luck to him, and it would be excellent to see the AFP made to look foolish again.

And that ladies and jellybeans is my Considered Opinion.

[photojourn]

Agree with considered opinion. Bunch of elephant trackers. The Dr Mohamed Haneef farce is a perfect example.

[hehehoho]

James Kinch's alleged partner in crime, ex-Top Cop Mark Standen was found guilty by a NSW court and sentenced to 22 years in prison on Dec 8th 2011.

One's attention is also drawn to the 2 Thais that were wanted for murder in Australia this year and the extradition was granted by the Thai courts within 6 months(?).

[chooka]

There was a Four Corners documentary on this on the Australia Network today, just finnished watching it. Very Interesting.

Four Corners - Standen: The Inside Man

Sunday, 25 December 2011 at 16:00

[ludditeman]

Many police forces in western countries (including Australia) use false arrest and false accusations against people they have decide to 'get'.

Part of the new world order IMHO.

Thai courts tend to require evidence before they extradite.

A big shame for Australia when Thai justice is better than Australian justice.

Edited December 25, 2011 by ludditeman

[chooka]

Many police forces in western countries (including Australia) use false arrest and false accusations against people they have decide to 'get'.

Part of the new world order IMHO.

Thai courts tend to require evidence before they extradite.

A big shame for Australia when Thai justice is better than Australian justice.

What a load of rot, how many police do you know personally or what involvement have you had with police.

Edited December 25, 2011 by chooka

[ludditeman]

Many police forces in western countries (including Australia) use false arrest and false accusations against people they have decide to 'get'.

Part of the new world order IMHO.

Thai courts tend to require evidence before they extradite.

A big shame for Australia when Thai justice is better than Australian justice.

What a load of rot, how many police do you know personally or what involvement have you had with police.

I was paid 10,000 AUD compensation after a speculative arrest failed.

When I talked about it with a senior police official, they informed me statistically it was worthwhile, as few complained, and even fewer sought compensation.

To answer your next questions

It doesn't matter what the crime was, the judge agreed there was not any evidence to justify my arrest.

It doesn't matter if I was guilty or not, the judge agreed there was not any evidence to justify my arrest.

It doesn't matter if I was previously found guilty of any crimes, there wasn't any evidence to suggest I was guilty of this one.

Yes, I do have extensive contact with police officers, many of which most reasonable people would consider 'corrupt'.

Edited December 25, 2011 by ludditeman

[chooka]

Many police forces in western countries (including Australia) use false arrest and false accusations against people they have decide to 'get'.

Part of the new world order IMHO.

Thai courts tend to require evidence before they extradite.

A big shame for Australia when Thai justice is better than Australian justice.

What a load of rot, how many police do you know personally or what involvement have you had with police.

I was paid 10,000 AUD compensation after a speculative arrest failed.

When I talked about it with a senior police official, they informed me statistically it was worthwhile, as few complained, and even fewer sought compensation.

To answer your next questions

It doesn't matter what the crime was, the judge agreed there was not any evidence to justify my arrest.

It doesn't matter if I was guilty or not, the judge agreed there was not any evidence to justify my arrest.

It doesn't matter if I was previously found guilty of any crimes, there wasn't any evidence to suggest I was guilty of this one.

Yes, I do have extensive contact with police officers, many of which most reasonable people would consider 'corrupt'.

Sorry I can't believe your story, no senior officer would have said what you claim. Police only need reasonable cause to arrest you and they do not arrest people without cause. (Sects 458 & 459 Crimes Act) They work hard for thier homes and are not about to hand them over on a bogus arrest. I also have extensive contact with police and know hundreds of them and have never met a corrupt one or any person that considers many are corrupt. No I am not saying there are no bad apples but there are very few. The checks and balances in place make it very difficult for a Victorian Police officer to do anything untoward. Constant audits of thier computer uses and many other things. A police officer can't fart without Ethical Standards (ESD) knowing about it. ESD is the largest department in Victoria Police with more officers policing the police than police protecting the public then you have the Office of Police Integrety (OPI) policing them again and they know if you scratch your arse.

Edited December 25, 2011 by chooka

[ludditeman]

Suit yourself!

I must have imagined this headline.

"Sydney police boss Mark Standen jailed for drug plot

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Sydney police boss 'in drug ring'
  

A former senior police officer has been jailed for 22 years for his part in an international drug-smuggling ring.

Mark Standen, a former assistant director of New South Wales Crime Commission, was convicted of trying to import 300kg of psuedoephedrine."

Edited December 25, 2011 by ludditeman

[hehehoho]

^ And was convicted and sentenced to 22 years.

Sorry I can't believe your story, no senior officer would have said what you claim. Police only need reasonable cause to arrest you and they do not arrest people without cause.

I cannot believe you know much about Australian police.

[Scott]

Thanks for the update on the story.

Please limit your personal anectodatal references and argumentative responses.

[BookMan]

Many police forces in western countries (including Australia) use false arrest and false accusations against people they have decide to 'get'.

Part of the new world order IMHO.

Thai courts tend to require evidence before they extradite.

A big shame for Australia when Thai justice is better than Australian justice.

What a load of rot, how many police do you know personally or what involvement have you had with police.

I was paid 10,000 AUD compensation after a speculative arrest failed.

When I talked about it with a senior police official, they informed me statistically it was worthwhile, as few complained, and even fewer sought compensation.

To answer your next questions

It doesn't matter what the crime was, the judge agreed there was not any evidence to justify my arrest.

It doesn't matter if I was guilty or not, the judge agreed there was not any evidence to justify my arrest.

It doesn't matter if I was previously found guilty of any crimes, there wasn't any evidence to suggest I was guilty of this one.

Yes, I do have extensive contact with police officers, many of which most reasonable people would consider 'corrupt'.

Sorry I can't believe your story, no senior officer would have said what you claim. Police only need reasonable cause to arrest you and they do not arrest people without cause. They work hard for thier homes and are not about to hand them over on a bogus arrest. I also have extensive contact with police and know hundreds of them and have never met a corrupt one or any person that considers many are corrupt. No I am not saying there are no bad apples but there are very few. The checks and balances in place make it very difficult for a Victorian Police officer to do anything untoward. Constant audits of thier computer uses and many other things. A police officer can't fart without Ethical Standards (ESD) knowing about it. ESD is the largest department in Victoria Police with more officers policing the police than police protecting the public then you have the Office of Police Integrety (OPI) policing them again and they know if you scratch your arse.

I agree that Ludditemans claims are difficult to believe , as he has put forward. and i have never heard the term 'speculative arrest' use din Australia. Statistically worthwhile??.... quite odd really..To say "A big shame for Australia when Thai justice is better than Australian justice" does not help luddites credibility one iota!

Having said that. Australia has had a number of Royal commissions into the police. And there have been found to be corrupt police on many occasions. There still are found to be police acting corruptly, and there have been cases of police making false arrests. But overall it is uncommon in Australia in the current environment.

[chooka]

^ And was convicted and sentenced to 22 years.

Sorry I can't believe your story, no senior officer would have said what you claim. Police only need reasonable cause to arrest you and they do not arrest people without cause.

I cannot believe you know much about Australian police.

20 years in the Job.....................

Edited December 25, 2011 by chooka

[hehehoho]

I'm afraid that anyone on here can type that.

ie, it means nothing.

Edited December 25, 2011 by hehehoho

[softgeorge]

There was a Four Corners documentary on this on the Australia Network today, just finnished watching it. Very Interesting.

Four Corners - Standen: The Inside Man

Sunday, 25 December 2011 at 16:00

Was on last night also.

[softgeorge]

I'm afraid that anyone on here can type that.

ie, it means nothing.

You could say that about everything that is written on this forum, even that of your own. Can you negate it? I tend to believe him as he seems to know what he is talking about.

[hehehoho]

You could say that about everything that is written on this forum, even that of your own.

In terms of claimed personal achievements, assets, careers etc etc than that is certainly the case. W

hich is why claiming that 'I have a...', 'I am a ....' etc etc when counter arguing on internet forums doesn't mean diddlysquat. :jap:

[fritter1970]

Makes me laugh when I hear people defending this geezer.

If it walks like a snake, and talks like a snake.......

[OzMick]

" It would be easier to go to Australia, but it's the principle of the matter."

Rare animals, drug dealers with principles.

"I'm charged with him (Standen). It's to put the pressure on me so that I would incriminate him, which I've refused to do."

"It appears they don't have the evidence in relation to Mr Standen or Mr Kinch."

Mark Standen was found guilty by a NSW court and sentenced to 22 years - which makes both those statements a tad suspect.

[whybother]

Makes me laugh when I hear people defending this geezer.

If it walks like a snake, and talks like a snake.......

... It's Voldermort???

[smokie36]

The whole thing stinks of entrapment.

[Siam Simon]

"Started by sriracha john, 2009-03-27 "

Where are they now?

[hehehoho]

"Started by sriracha john, 2009-03-27 "

Where are they now?

One is in a NSW prison serving 22 years, having been convicted a few months ago and sentenced two weeks ago.

The other is in Klong Prem fighting extradition.