Even the most blase citizens must be alarmed at the crime events unfolding across the news media in Sydney this week. It started when a twenty year old Asian student at the NSW University of Technology was declared " missing " - and there were fears for his safety. The next day fishermen at sea off Cronulla spotted what looked like a body in the water, wrapped in a tarpaulin and bound with ropes.
Events moved swiftly from there. For reasons that are yet to be explained it seems that video surveillance caught a very senior retired police detective and another senior officer who was sacked from the force in disgrace in contact with the missing student - and this mystery revolves around a small black bag, said to contain two million dollars worth of the drug " Ice ".
One of the ex police officers was immediately arrested and held in "protective custody ". Police feared an " A J Simpson " cavalcade when the other ex officer offered to come in for an arranged surrender - and launched a spectacular media event arrest - and there is every expectation that this is the tip of an iceberg when it comes to drug distribution in this state.
We are well aware that the huge profits that can be made from distributing illegal drugs is the main income impetus behind the rise of bikie gangs and the various ethnic crime groups who dominate certain suburbs.It stands to reason that the police are the very people with the inside knowledge to profit from drugs - if they choose to cross the line and engage on the other side of the law.
In particular, it must be frustrating to police who have finally retired with a police pension to know that the " respectable " major players who control the top of the drug chains are literally millionaires who are feted by society and live a life of privilege. By " looking the other way " as a serving officer, or using their specialised knowledge as a retiree - they can cream off a dividend that allows them to also enjoy " the good life ".
It seems that in this case, murder was committed without compunction and people who knew better made a complete mess of disposing of the body. Surely they teach people in detective school that dead bodies float unless heavy weights are used to keep them submerged ?
Once again the involvement of police - retired or still functioning in the police force - will draw the spotlight on the connections between police and crime. It is inevitable that a degree of criminality exists within any group tasked with administering the law. The big question is - how deep does it run in the people in blue uniforms who guard our safety ?
The real problem is that the huge profits from illegal drugs are an almost irresistible temptation to any otherwise honest citizen !
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