Aust.: Police flooding the streets with cocaine

Greens move for inquiry into police flooding the streets with 6kg of cocaine

Greens MP and justice spokesperson Lee Rhiannon today gave notice of a motion for a parliamentary inquiry into why the NSW Crime Commission authorised the street sale of seven kilos of cocaine and whether this operation was appropriate and legal.

"This inquiry is urgently needed. The fact that the police allowed six kilograms of cocaine to be 'lost' on the streets is nothing short of a scandal," Ms Rhiannon said.

"I am surprised the government or coalition have not said anything about this issue, particularly when they both continually ramp up their law and order hype.

"While the NSW Crime Commission works in a shadowy world, the public still deserves to know whether it acted lawfully or not when agreeing to let an informant sell large quantities of cocaine as a lure for further evidence.

"Court transcripts reveal that the Assistant Commissioner of the NSW
Crime Commission decided that the supply of seven kilograms of cocaine did not endanger the health of any person.

"There are many unanswered questions here, like whether lives were put at risk by the sale of the cocaine and if the operation was conducted properly and lawfully.

"The NSW Crime Commission is not answerable to anyone other than the Minister for Police, making it a law onto itself. Even ASIO is overseen by a parliamentary committee.

"I will be seeking a short, sharp inquiry to try get to the bottom of what happened during this dodgy operation," said Ms Rhiannon.

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