Oz couldn't take it 2967

Dave Baker

Indeed it is. If they were, then it's likely her or one of her family were the ones that put it there.

Actually some have suggested something like that. But I don't think we disagree that *no one knows* where, how or by who the drugs were placed in the bag. The possibilities seem to be, Corby herself, someone in her family (both her brother and her father had contact with the boogie board bag prior to it going to baggage check in) or some third party between Brisbane and Denpasar, so probably at Brisbane or possibly at Sydney. One of those is the truth. But which one and how is it possible to find out. The best chance was to print the sealed plastic bag with the dope in it and that opportunity was lost because of the poor practices of the Denpasar customs staff who hopelessly contaminated it.

I think it came out quite early in the piece that there are only very cursory inspections of baggage on domestic flights, ad they are looking for plants or weapons, not drugs. Additionally, there appear to be no drug checks on *outbound* international baggage at Australian airports either.

And no evidence that she planted it before it was checked in either. That's the problem, the opportunity to demonstrate she had no contact with the drugs in the sealed plastic bag was lost by clumsy contamination of it by Denpasar customs. That was her best chance of demonstrating she had not touched that sealed bag of drugs. That the boogie board bag was hers has never been disputed, what IS disputed is that the sealed plastic bag containing the actual dope which was in the boogie board bag was hers and that she had placed it there.

Yes, I agree and that's part of the problem. Important evidence (prints on the plastic bag containing the dope) was destroyed by mishandling in customs there. HAd that been carefully handled by gloved hands only, it could have been dusted for prints or even DNA. If the bag had neither her prints nor her DNA on it, but DID have those of a third party, either one of her family or someone who was not one of the people in close contact with her, it would strongly support her contention. It was her best chance to prove innocence and it was denied her.

My understanding is that Customs policy is that *must* be gloved to handle the *contents* of a bag. If they open the bag and simply look at the contents they may or may not be gloved, but if they have to touch any contents they must do so with gloved hands.

Well isn't that the point? The bag wasn't locked and many people potentially had access to it. But this potentially important evidence was destroyed by mishandling at Denpasar.

No, the outside of the boogie board bag is not evidence, it's touched by many people in the course of being transported, but the sealed bag of dope inside it most certainly was and should not have been handled by ungloved hands in case it needed to be dusted for prints or tested for DNA. That potentially vital evidence was destroyed by mishandling.

On the OUTSIDE yes. We are not talking about the boogie board bag when I am talking about contamination of evidence, we are talking about the sealed plastic bag inside the boogie board bag that contained the actual drugs. Prints or DNA on THAT were potentially crucial evidence and it was destroyed by mishandling.

You seem to be confused about the bag we are discussing. The bag that was potentially evidence, and contaminated beyond usefullness was the *sealed plastic bag of dope* that was *in* her boogie board bag, *not* the boogie bag itself.

There is apparently virtually no checking of domestic travellers baggage for drugs at Australian airports. If there is indeed a domestic 'dope highway' using the bags of unwitting travellers as 'mules' in Australia the chances of being caught (at least til now) seem very small.

Doesn't alter the FACT that baggage handlers in Sydney were caught trafficing narcotics. That it was sugar not sugar doesn't change the fact that there were crooks involved in the drug trade carrying on business involving the transport of narcotics in airline baggage. With or without the cons story there is evidence that there is a problem with drug trafficing amongst baggage handlers at at least one Australian International airport.

The CO