Richard Baker

So what they do is they get intel on, let's say in this instance, a big importation in 2.4 tonnes of cocaine on a boat coming across the Pacific towards Australia.

And they'd seized that and they realised that the cartel and the Australian end of the criminal enterprise didn't know that the stuff had been seized and they were able to get the phones and devices of people involved and just continue the conversations between each end sort of thing.

It just so happened that the DEA guys in Australia had a really good relationship with the West Australian Police Force, as they do with New South Wales.

The intelligence they had was that half of these drugs were going to be dropped off in the ocean just off Perth.

So they said to the West Australians, do you guys want to use this as an opportunity, run a sting?

Let's make 1.2 tonnes of fake cocaine, package it, drop it out in the sea, and then you guys be watching with drones and helicopters and shit.

See who turns up.

They were going to let the coke run across to the eastern seaboard, you know, and roll it up the chain and see how much intel they could gather, all the while knowing it was fake cocaine.

Unfortunately, I never fully got to the bottom of it because, and that's part of the story, is that this particular operation, it was called Operation Beach, caused the biggest stink between the West Australian Police, the DEA and the Australian Federal Police.

So the Australian Federal Police, and what I did find out

was while this operation was taking place and over several days they were surveilling and arresting people in Perth and all of that sort of stuff was very highly successful, the AFP, some of its most senior officers, were working around the clock trying to pour cold water on this operation and question its validity and legality.

And I thought that's extraordinary to have an Australian policeman to be on the same side.

So why have you got the most senior officers in one force actively trying to sabotage an operation that is stopping or had stopped 2.4 tonnes of cocaine coming to Australia, which is like half of our consumption at that time?

And for me, it talked about egos and I guess power plays at the highest level.

And I'm going, well, as a taxpayer...

Is that what I want my police to be spending their time, money and effort doing?

And also the DEA agents who provided the opportunity for this sting ended up very shortly after getting basically kicked out of Australia.

No, no, not at all.

It was more about certain people getting their nose out of joint or wanting to send a message to the DEA saying, hey, this is our country.

You can't just go around and shop jobs to various police forces.