Summary of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

Even with the growing challenges of underground drug importation, there is still little evidence regarding the knowledge of the crime and the process involved in bringing these criminals to book.  In addition, the different measures taken by drug law enforcement agencies around the world do not really tackle the main issue and the real culprits in the multi-billion dollar underground industry. The main aim of this report is to come up with a better understanding of the process or underground drug importations and analyze various cases so as to come up the best Situation Crime prevention techniques by using the crime scripts.  This will be achieved by providing an analysis of 10 court cases whereby the crime script containing various stages will also be identified.  In addition, the report will also come up with prevention measures which will be summarized in the analysis framework. The report will conclude by showing that by only focusing on the chemicals, location and equipment used to conduct the vice will eventually have a damaging effect on the whole manufacturing of the script.

Introduction of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

Illegal drug importation is a business that is operated by organized and well-connected groups which are used to secretly networking with manufacturers of illegal drugs and importing them is a growing concern for the drug law enforcement agencies around the world. However, even with the increase of the number of illegal drug imports detected every year, there are different approaches which are used by law enforcement agencies that have often relied on poor mechanisms, mostly reactive in nature.  In this manner they are never as effective.  When looking at law enforcement agencies, they mostly rely on informants, crackdowns and raids, undercover operations and will mostly suffer from the general lack of high quality form of intervention.  This is because most agencies will favor approaches that will lead to arrest of people found with illicit drug imports, court convictions or the seizure of the warehouse. However they still lack the detail needed to understand the vice and how the people responsible are well connected. 

According to Y, et al., (2011) the use of crime scripts in understanding and solving illegal drug important problem is very innovative and can provide an much more detailed way of understanding the factors involved in the whole crime syndicate and come up with a situation crime prevention measure or technique. This is because crime scripts can be able to map the different forms of actions taken or used by offenders drug the act. Crimes scripts are also important as they enable drug law agencies to capture sequences of the same crime, including the operations involved in the illegal drug importation.  The understanding is also very important since it will provide a lasting solution for the prevention of illegal drug importation. This is because while coming up with a crime script, one is able to understand the complete sequence, the decisions taken during and after the commission of crime and will analyze all stages in the process. At this the law enforcement officers will be able to come up with a fuller variety of situational crime prevention strategies (Porter, 2008). These strategies will be used to counter the different stages of illegal drug importation.

Case 1: R v Silva [2010] QCA 79

Sequence of Events

Accused transported the drugs through a ship after hiring Sparkles plenty vessel.

The skipper of the vessel had the accused son and himself as crew members

The police intercepted telephone conversation between Jackson a resident from of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico and the accused.

The vessel was sailed to Mexico via Columbia and the Panama canal,

At this point Jackson agreed to the journey with cocaine worth $1,000,000

Drugs were brought to sparkles plenty via a small craft ( panga)

Cocaine was discovered in water tanks  at a stopover in Tahiti

7 days later Jackson was queried by customs officer on arrival to Australia and apprehended.

Case2: R v Dehghani; Ex parte Director of Public Prosecutions

(Cth) [2011] QCA 159

Sequence of Events of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

The customs office at Brisbane intercepted two boxes posted from the United Kingdom on January 31st 2007.

The boxes were labelled as containing Toys, children games and DVDs.

After dismantling the boxes ecstasy pills were found.

There was a surveillance device which was placed in the boxes and the accused phone was intercepted.

It recorded how the accused repositioned the boxes using a T shirt to avoid finger prints.

The respondent’s car was intercepted and he was apprehended. 

Sequence of Events of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

On March 3rd 2008 the offender arrived at Brisbane airport in Australia on a flight from Chile using a Malaysian passport.

When questioned by the customs office she responded with broken English that she came to Australia for holiday.

Her suitcase was then examined.

Cocaine was found in a sealed packaged that was concealed within the lining.

Her bag had a diary with instructions given to the accused regarding transportation of the suitcase.

After reaching Brisbane airport she was to take the bag to an address in Sydney where it would be collected.

The police found that she was instructed by a woman from Brazil.

She was apprehended with 1.686.8 grams of pure cocaine.

She co-operated and entered a guilty plea.

Sequence of Events of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

A parcel posted from Costa Rica was intercepted by the Sydney customs. The parcel was addressed to Daiana Grimes, 235 Jefferson Lane, Palm Beach on the Queensland’s Gold Coast.

This was later found to be a fake address.

The package had four boxes of chocolate, inside them were packs of cocaine under the chocolate layers.

The total amount of cocaine found was 1.489.7 grams of pure cocaine.

The cocaine was removed and the package reconstructed and delivered to the address.

Jesse Bradford took the package and delivered to Harris (co-offender).

He tried to contact Oprea and discussed arrangements to pick the package disguised as a ‘Christmas present’.  She instructed the package be taken to her car which was being repaired.  She was intercepted as she tried to open the package and apprehended.

Sequence of Events

Tran left Sydney on 24th February 2006 for Vietnam where he stayed till 24th February. He later flew to Cambodia and obtained heroin.

On March 1st he arrived at Brisbane.

His bags were examined by custom officers. They found two large plastic jars that were wrapped in masking tape to cover the contents. The barrels also contained cut sections of fish and condoms.

After X-ray the jars and condoms were found to contain a mixture of 68% of heroin with a street value of $1,000,000.

Sequence of Events

On November 2007 a female Thai national, Ms. Piyaporn Eiwarun came to Australia as a student of English. She was acquainted with a man named Francis Okafor over the internet.

The soon lived together as lovers. Okafor told Eiwarun that he was a doctor working in India.

He organized for a flight for her to go to India, thereafter meet his family in Nigeria. Later on she spent a month in Delhi with Okafor.

When she was returning the Australia, Okafor asked her to take a package to a friend in Australia who wanted to open a shop for Indian cloths.

On March 9th 2008 she arrived at Brisbane airport. When her luggage was X- Rayed Herion was identified in false compartment.

It was later found that the bag contained 852.6 grams of pure heroin.

She agreed to cooperate with the police. Where 30 calls between him and the accused were recorded.

She was later apprehended and charged with the transporting heroin. She still continued to cooperate with the police who later caught up with Okafor when he was boarding a taxi.

Case 7:   R v Hill, Bakir, Gray & Broad; ex parte Cth DPP [2011]   QCA 306

Sequence of events of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

The accused were in business of importing GBL

They used GBL to manufacture GHB which was an illegal substance. And sold it in universities and streets.

One of the accused was asked to cooperate which ensured that the other members of the cartel were arrested.

Case 8:   R v Handlen & Paddison [2010] QCA 371

Sequence of Events of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

The appellants were both Canadian citizens.

They were involved in the shipment of large amounts of ecstasy, methamphetamine and cocaine from their country to Australia.

It is reported that the first importation took place on May 2006.

The second one took place on June 2006.

The first accused Handlen was charged with possession in the first shipment.

The shipment was packaged in cathode ray tubes of computer monitors.

After inspecting the warehouse container where the monitors were stored, 480 monitors were found to contain the drugs.

These containers were destined for Brisbane.

After more than 4 months surveillance the accused were found guilty and apprehended. They were also found with an email from Reed regarding the next shipment, the computer monitors were seized. It also contained 698 tablets of ecstasy.

Sequence of events

The appellants, by use of false name assisted the co-accused on their arrival to Australia.

He advised them to rent a motel room, where they paid an advance bond and rent on a unit.

A bank account was open to which they deposited their expenses.

They drove together at Airline beach where the appellant negotiated to buy a yatch.

A customs officer boarded on the Yatch while they were training to ride it.

He recorded a series of questions and answers.

During a telephone conversation, Khoo was given instructions of transporting drugs in the yatch, however while bringing the bags to land by the Gold coast unit.

The appellants were apprehended on a boat at Mooloolaba where they were found with 413 kgs of drugs. They included 1 ½ kgs tablets of ecstasy, 259.2 kilograms of methamphetamine tablets and 152.25 kgs of meth crystal. This had a street value of $125 million.

Sequence of events

Lebanon was a petty officer on the US Warship USS Boxer

On 8th June 2005 the Boxer visited Australia’s Townsville, being a public vessel owned by a foreign state and engaged in government work.

Lebanon was spotted packing a blue carry bag that had a number of packages including his laundry.

After being cleared with security he travelled to Seagulls resort with friends.

He later left his back in a hotel.

Later made several calls to co-offender that include Maio and Muhammad. Later on delivered the bag to Maio.

After being intercepted he agreed to participate in a police record of interview.

From the interview Maio and Muhammad were intercepted by AFT officer with the three packages containing 7.314 of pure methyl amphetamine of a street value $10.3M.

Pattern Identification for all the cases of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

From the analysis of the above scripts, the patterns two which illegal importation if drugs in Australia appear to move in the same channels as follows

Matrix of Collated Data

Script Steps for cases

References of Illegal drug networking with manufacturers

Porter, L. (2008). Using archival data and multidimensional scaling to explore leadership: Examples from group crime. . Issues in Forensic Psychology, 8, 33-44. .

Y, N. C., Leclerc, B., & Townsley, M. (2011). Crime script analysis of drug manufacturing in clandestine laboratories. . British Journal of Criminology, 51, 355-374.