History (HSC SSCE Legal Studies): Revision Notes

History

The arrests of 17 April 2005

On 17 April 2005, the Indonesia National Police arrested nine Australians in Bali who were attempting to smuggle heroin back to Australia. This group became known as the Bali Nine.

The arrests took place at two locations:

• Four Australians were detained at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar: Martin Stephens, Renae Lawrence, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj
• Five were arrested at locations in and around Kuta: Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen

Indonesian police discovered heroin strapped to the bodies of the four arrested at the airport. At a hotel in Kuta, officers found nearly $350$ grams of heroin in a bag. Andrew Chan's suitcase contained $0.01$ grams of heroin. In total, the group planned to smuggle 8 kilograms of high-grade heroin into Australia.

The executions of 2015

In 2015, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad despite international appeals. Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop made formal pleas to spare their lives.

Chan and Sukumaran had been identified as the ringleaders of the smuggling operation. However, during their $10$ years in prison, both men had become model prisoners, demonstrating significant rehabilitation. Their executions shocked Australia and seriously damaged Australia-Indonesia relations.

Understanding transnational crime

The Bali Nine case is an example of transnational crime - crime that occurs across international borders, either in origin or effect. Drug trafficking operations often involve multiple countries for sourcing, transit and destination.

Legal tensions

The case highlighted a fundamental tension in international law:

• International cooperation: Nations work together to combat transnational crime through agreements and treaties
• Human rights commitments: Nations also commit to protecting human rights, including opposition to the death penalty

Planning the operation

Recruitment and organization

The young Australians involved were recruited through contacts made at nightclubs in Australia. The operation was organized with clear roles:

• Ringleaders: Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen controlled the operation
• Drug mules: The other six members were recruited to physically transport the heroin

The drug mules were organized into separate teams and did not know about each other's existence until their arrest.

The plan

The heroin was to be sourced from Thailand. All nine traveled to Bali under the guise of taking a holiday - Bali being a popular tourist destination for Australians. The plan was to collect the heroin in Bali and smuggle it back to Australia.

Preparation in Sydney

Before departing for Bali, preparations were made at Sydney motels:

• At the Formule One Motel in Enfield, suitcases were repacked with materials needed to attach heroin packages to bodies, including bandages, fabric bands and tight shorts
• Andrew Chan met with several drug mules at this location to brief them
• Members traveled to Bali on separate flights between 3 and 8 April 2005

Cooperation between law enforcement agencies

Australian Federal Police (AFP)

In 2005, the AFP identified Indonesia as a major source point for drugs being smuggled into Australia. They had been monitoring the group of young Australians for six months following a tip-off from an informant in Brisbane.

Surveillance methods

The AFP's investigation involved:

• Building profiles of suspects
• Tracking friendship networks
• Monitoring travel plans
• Creating wall charts connecting individuals under surveillance

Initially, the AFP was uncertain whether this was actually a drug smuggling operation. However, by April 2005, their intelligence strongly indicated criminal activity was planned.

Understanding the threat

The AFP knew that:

• Drug trafficking organizations were using increasingly sophisticated methods to smuggle drugs into Australia
• The Australian drug market was highly lucrative for international traffickers
• Drug mules were one of many tactics used to transport illegal substances
• There had been a recent crackdown on drug importations, prompting traffickers to adapt their methods

By 8 April 2005, when all suspects had arrived in Bali, the AFP possessed substantial intelligence pointing to Andrew Chan as the operation's organizer. They decided to contact their Indonesian counterparts.

Indonesia National Police (INP)

The Indonesia National Police (INP) is known in Indonesia as the Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia, abbreviated to POLRI.

History of AFP-INP cooperation

Cooperation between the AFP and INP began in the late 1990s when Indonesia transitioned to full democracy following President Suharto's downfall. The AFP provided:

• Training for INP officers
• Support for enforcement activities regarding drug smuggling
• Assistance with transnational crime investigations

This cooperation intensified significantly after the 2002 Bali Bombings. The AFP established Operation Alliance, a permanent investigative team in Indonesia. AFP officers provided close support following:

• The Marriott Hotel bombing (2003)
• The Australian Embassy bombing (2004)
• The Bali Bombings (2005)

AFP communication with INP

On 8 April 2005, the AFP's senior liaison officer in Bali, Paul Hunniford, sent a letter to the INP stating: "the AFP in Australia has received information that a group of persons are allegedly importing a narcotics substance (believed to be heroin) from Bali to Australia."

Four days later, on 12 April, he sent another letter listing:

• Passport numbers
• Birth dates
• Likely return dates of eight young Australians

At this stage, the AFP had no knowledge of Myuran Sukumaran. The INP would soon discover the ninth Australian and transmit this information back to the AFP.

Following receipt of these letters, the INP began surveillance of the nine Australians in Bali, focusing particularly on Andrew Chan, who had visited Bali twice in the previous six months. Chan and Renae Lawrence had successfully smuggled heroin to Australia in October 2004 without detection.

The crime

Collecting the heroin

On 8 April 2005, Andrew Chan collected a specially constructed silver suitcase containing $5$ kilograms of heroin from a Thai supplier. This occurred before the AFP contacted the INP, so Chan was not yet under surveillance.

The original plan was for the group to return to Australia on 9 April with the heroin. However, Chan decided to wait for an additional shipment. The Thai supplier had not brought sufficient quantities on the first delivery, necessitating a second meeting. This delay gave INP officers additional time to conduct surveillance and gather evidence.

From 12 April, INP officers were stationed at the hotels where the Australians were staying. They:

• Photographed the suspects
• Tracked their movements
• Monitored phone conversations

Final preparations

On 16 April at 9 p.m., Chan met again with the Thai supplier at Seaview Cottage to collect the remaining heroin. INP officers filmed this meeting but did not know what Chan was doing inside the building for $10$ minutes.

On 17 April, Andrew Chan prepared the drug mules:

• He met Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj at a hotel and taped packages of heroin to their bodies
• He and Sukumaran then prepared Renae Lawrence and Martin Stephens in the same manner

The two groups of drug mules departed in separate taxis to Ngurah Rai Airport, unaware of each other's existence. Meanwhile, Nguyen and Sukumaran went to the Melasti Bungalows to meet Si Yen Chen and Matthew Norman.

Throughout all these activities, INP surveillance teams monitored every movement.

The arrests

Airport arrests

At 8 p.m. on 17 April, Martin Stephens and Renae Lawrence arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport. They were under constant surveillance from the moment they exited their taxi. The pair passed through security without incident - even the sniffer dogs did not detect the heroin. However, a customs officer then approached them and asked them to follow him for a search, which revealed the heroin packages.

At 8:30 p.m., Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj arrived at the airport. At the immigration counter, they were detained by customs officials and taken to an office where they found Stephens and Lawrence already detained. Rush and Czugaj were searched.

Unaware that his drug mules had been detained, Andrew Chan arrived at the airport and checked in for the same flight as Stephens and Lawrence. Customs officials and police then approached Chan and asked him to accompany them.

Hotel arrests

Police proceeded to the Melasti Bungalows where Sukumaran, Matthew Norman, Si Yen Chen and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen were celebrating Sukumaran's 24th birthday. The four men had no idea they had been under surveillance all day.

Police searched the hotel room and discovered $334.26$ grams of heroin in a rucksack. All four men were handcuffed and taken to Polda police station.

The Bali Nine members

Name	Age in 2005	From	Role	Sentence (after appeals)
Andrew Chan	$21$	Sydney	Ringleader	Execution
Myuran Sukumaran	$24$	Sydney	Ringleader	Execution
Matthew Norman	$18$	Sydney	Drug mule	Life imprisonment
Scott Rush	$19$	Brisbane	Drug mule	Life imprisonment
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen	$21$	Brisbane	Financier	Life imprisonment
Si Yen Chen	$20$	Sydney	Drug mule	Life imprisonment
Martin Stephens	$29$	Wollongong	Drug mule	Life imprisonment
Michael Czugaj	$19$	Brisbane	Drug mule	Life imprisonment
Renae Lawrence	$27$	Newcastle	Drug mule	$20$ years' imprisonment

Remember!