Bali Nine pair Myuran Sukumaran, Andrew Chan given 72 hours.
May 4, 2015 12:08:26 GMT 7
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2015 12:08:26 GMT 7
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have defended their role in the arrests of the Bali Nine Australian drug gang.
Information shared by the AFP with Indonesian police in 2005 led to the arrest and conviction of the gang and the execution of the two ringleaders.
Police have been criticised for reporting the men despite knowing they could face the death penalty.
But senior officers said they were unable to arrest the gang before they left Australia for Indonesia.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were killed by an Indonesian firing squad on Wednesday despite Australian diplomatic pressure.
The AFP will soon be called before a parliamentary committee to explain the decision.
'Fanciful and offensive'
Commissioner Colvin told a media conference on Monday: "If we had had enough information to arrest the Bali Nine before they left Australia we would have done exactly that."
He said the AFP did not know how many members were in the gang or what drugs they were dealing with, which was why they contacted their Indonesian counterparts. He said media reports that the AFP found out about the gang from a tip-off from the father of one of the gang, were incorrect because the AFP already knew about the syndicate.
He said also reports the AFP had "shopped" the gang to Indonesia in a bid to curry favour with police there were "fanciful and offensive".
However, he admitted one of the investigating officers asked to be removed from the team because he was upset about the risk the gang members might face they death penalty.
Commissioner Colvin also said he could not guarantee that other Australians caught smuggling drugs in countries with the death penalty would not suffer the same fate.
He said police took into account the risk of passing on information, but that police guidelines said they must also work with foreign police.
www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32579227
Information shared by the AFP with Indonesian police in 2005 led to the arrest and conviction of the gang and the execution of the two ringleaders.
Police have been criticised for reporting the men despite knowing they could face the death penalty.
But senior officers said they were unable to arrest the gang before they left Australia for Indonesia.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were killed by an Indonesian firing squad on Wednesday despite Australian diplomatic pressure.
The AFP will soon be called before a parliamentary committee to explain the decision.
'Fanciful and offensive'
Commissioner Colvin told a media conference on Monday: "If we had had enough information to arrest the Bali Nine before they left Australia we would have done exactly that."
He said the AFP did not know how many members were in the gang or what drugs they were dealing with, which was why they contacted their Indonesian counterparts. He said media reports that the AFP found out about the gang from a tip-off from the father of one of the gang, were incorrect because the AFP already knew about the syndicate.
He said also reports the AFP had "shopped" the gang to Indonesia in a bid to curry favour with police there were "fanciful and offensive".
However, he admitted one of the investigating officers asked to be removed from the team because he was upset about the risk the gang members might face they death penalty.
Commissioner Colvin also said he could not guarantee that other Australians caught smuggling drugs in countries with the death penalty would not suffer the same fate.
He said police took into account the risk of passing on information, but that police guidelines said they must also work with foreign police.
www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32579227
