Stevedore Adam Powell sentenced to jail (NNF 2016/093)

Adam Powell: body builder, stevedore, now in prison.

Police suspect that for 10 years at Port Botany, Adam accessed government cargo information systems to assist in breaching border controls to help international drug crime syndicates. He was sentenced last week to three (3) years and ten (10) months in prison in connection to trafficking a kilogram of cocaine worth $275,000.

Before the disbandment of Task Force Polaris, Australia’s leading waterfront crime taskforce, this taskforce had successfully removed this key player from an organised crime syndicate on the NSW waterfront. Task Force Polaris was created 5 years ago, and dedicated itself to identifying security gaps and investigating exploitations at national ports.

“When asked by Fairfax Media this week if Powell's removal from the docks would impact on the flow of drugs through Port Botany, a policing official laughed,” said the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Despite major advances in Australian police methodology and operations that have seen state and federal agencies become respected, key players in global drug enforcement alongside the US Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI, the flow of contraband-filled containers into Australia continues largely unabated.

“This is no fault of police, but rather evidence of the law of supply and demand. The huge and lucrative drug consumption market in Australia leaves our porous borders under constant assault by offshore suppliers.”

With the loss of a dedicated maritime crime taskforce, whoever has taken over Adam’s spot in Port Botany or any other importer of drugs breaching the border, the question is – will life become easier for them?

NSW Police Force fails to think so, with the team stating they are “continuing to actively target and disrupt syndicates involved in crime on Australia's borders and combat drug trafficking in source countries.”

Click HERE to view the full article by Nick McKenzie & Nick Ralston, The Sydney Morning Herald, Key player in Sydney’s drug importation scene Adam Powell sentenced to jail, 24 July 2016.