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[tab=30][tab=30] I placed the parcel on the counter in front of the customer; he did not react or take possession of it. ‘No, I didn’t want WALL. I want HALL. Have you got a parcel for HALL?’ I returned the parcel to the rake to check if there was a parcel for HALL. There wasn’t one. I returned to the counter, ‘There’s no parcel for HALL.’ I said. He thanked me and left. What now.
Early the next day, the same customer who came to the counter was arrested for possession of drugs found at his home.
Detectives at the Drug Squad were notified of the arrest and wanted to question him about the parcel at the terminal. He was eventually arrested on suspicion of dealing with the marihuana at the terminal.
At his court hearing, he pleaded innocent. A witness was called to testify the customer was the ringleader of drug dealers. This witness was an undercover agent who worked with the Australian Narcotics Bureau and who infiltrated the gang and obtained sufficient evidence to convict the drug dealer.
It was a case I thought would never have been solved if it weren’t for the undercover work carried out by the covert of the Australian Narcotics Bureau. When he gave his evidence about the package of marihuana at the Terminal, he said the accused man told him when he went to get the parcel he saw the masking tape on the top of the package had been tampered with. This was his reason he changed the name from WALL to HALL...

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[tab=30][tab=30]I looked up and saw him reach the top of the hill and run into the distance. Other than the Chief Investigator, the covert and I no other person suspected anything. It paid off because later when we met the covert, he told us everyone was amused by the escape and he was never suspected of anything. He kept working undercover.
Interstate Drug Squad detectives contacted the Chief Investigator to tell him a marihuana shipment was in transit to a mail terminal in Brisbane for collection. The parcel weighed about ten kilograms and was in a cardboard box. It was consigned to a person named WALL.
My job was to act as a counter attendant and be there when the customer claimed the parcel. The foreman employed at the Terminal was the only other person to know about the shipment.
He instructed me about the role of a front counter attendant. When the customer came to the counter and asked for the parcel, I was to retrieve it from the parcel rake and return it to the front counter. The customer had to physically place his hands onto the parcel to prove he took possession of it before he could be apprehended. Each step of the process was rehearsed over and over until I had it clear in my mind of what to do.
For two days no one claimed the parcel. It was late afternoon on the third day when a tall blonde male came to the front counter and asked for a parcel in the name of WALL. I could hardly contain myself; this was the moment. I took a deep breath and told myself to be calm and to act normally; fully aware if I made one false move the customer may become suspicious. This was the moment, we were on alert, and each step had to be done correctly not to alarm the customer. I retrieved the parcel from the rake and tried to keep calm under the pressure of what I had to do. My heart pounded almost out from my chest; I’ve got to keep calm; I kept repeating to myself. Take it easy; things are going to be alright...
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[tab=30][tab=30]Drug raids were normally carried out early of a morning, at daybreak. People who used drugs were asleep. One morning I was partnered with the Chief Investigator. Our job, travel to Amity Point, Stradbroke Island, and search camper’s tents for drugs. A covert had lived with the drug users on the island for the previous three months and provided information of who they were and where we could find the drugs.
I dressed in a pair of jeans and tee shirt, and carried a firearm, police notebook and handcuffs and joined other members of the squad. We didn’t know what to expect.
The journey over to the island on the police boat was smooth but when we landed on the shore excitement and a thrill, I was the hunter and stalked the prey and did not know what to find.
Twelve people were arrested for possession of drugs which ranged from marijuana to lysergic acid diethyl amide. Lysergic acid diethyl amide is a drug the user placed under their tongue to make them – see different colours and make them think they’re in outer space, instead of in the real world.
People arrested were taken to the Dunwich Police Station and questioned before being charged. Among these twelve people the Chief Investigator was the only person who knew the identity of the covert. The Chief Investigator entered the interview room, I was in the process of questioning the covert, who I didn’t know at the time was the covert, when he introduced us and took over the interview. The covert needed to escape the custody of the police before they reached the mainland so he wouldn’t attend court. He suggested when the covert stepped from the police boat, he made a run for it. I would chase him. I was instructed not to catch him and allow him to escape. We would meet at a secret location to work out the next stage of the operation. All was in readiness.
The police boat moored, the covert jumped out and ran up the boat ramp. I followed in hot pursuit. It looked real to the other people in the boat when most of the arrested people called out to the covert to ‘go for it.’ I took chase immediately because I wasn’t certain if one of the other detectives who didn’t know about the escape plan would fire a shot in the direction of the escapee. They didn’t, thank goodness. It was about fifty metres with a slight incline which made the run uphill tough from the boat ramp to the street. Near to the top I almost caught up and told him to run faster. He was buggered. I could have put my hand on his shoulder when I put my left foot in front of my right and tripped and fell to the ground...

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[tab=30]Not long afterwards I left the Robbery Unit to begin training in the Drug Squad. Up until then the only drug I’d ever known was beer. I’d never seen or heard of marihuana, lysergic acid diethyl amide, uppers and downers or any other drug.
Detectives in the Drug Squad did not know ‘what the left hand did not tell the right hand’. It was like a ’secret service’. All I needed to know was to ‘do what I was told and to keep my mouth shut.’ I didn’t know ‘who was who’ in the zoo or whom I could trust or be trusted. I understood why secrets needed to be kept for if the wrong information somehow got out to the people who were using drugs it would have been harder to find them.
Eventually after I worked in a team with two other detectives, I became one of those who could be trusted. It was a huge learning curve of intrigue – who to trust – who could be trusted.
Whilst we received information from the public about suspicions of people using drugs, coverts, (who were serving police officers worked undercover to infiltrate drug users). It was of upmost importance to protect the identity of each covert so their role was never in jeopardy. Being a covert was the most dangerous job in the Police Force. It was imperative the Chief Investigator of the Drug Squad was the only person who knew the identity of each covert. If at anytime the drug users, or dealers, knew the identity of any covert, the convert was immediately withdrawn.
I did undercover work earlier in my career with booze, betting, and prostitution. This was different, drugs. I didn’t mind being one of the back-room boys who came along later. I have total respect for those police officers who went far beyond their call of duty to perform such a dangerous task; also, I appreciated the risk they took to their own lives in performing such a dangerous job. They were unsung heroes...

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[tab=30][tab=30] ‘We’ve got to get back to Police Headquarters, they know who he is.’ My off sider called out. I almost collapsed with relief.
Twenty detectives gathered at the debriefing session at Police Headquarters to discuss strategies on how to find the bank robber. We parted company. I went with a more experienced detective as my new partner.
We drove to the Gold Coast. Our task to search all hotel and motel car parks to look for a rental car the bank robber was driving. We knew the registration number and type of vehicle, now it was a matter of finding the vehicle and the bank robber.
‘What’ll we do if we see this fellow?’ I asked.
‘Wait until we find him first. Keep looking.’ He said.
All day we searched, I didn’t think there were so many hotel or motel car parks on the Gold Coast. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
‘Why don’t we check if he changed the car?’ I timidly asked.
‘That’s not a bad idea.’ He replied and drove to the nearest rental agency. It was a good idea. The car was at the rental yard and had been exchanged only ten minutes before. We were close to him.
A message blasted over the radio. ‘We’ve got him.’ He was apprehended and arrested at Fingal in New South Wales after shots were fired. This was the work for me. The adrenalin rush was exhilarating.
The role of a detective has many ups and downs. One day everything falls into place, on other days everything falls apart. No two days are alike, except the next day is a new day of intrigue and challenge of not knowing what is about to happen. It’s exciting, life fulfilling, and energy sapping. It’s all about expecting the unexpected, no written scripts, no telling what to expect from one day to the next. The role is one of protecting life threatening ordeals as well as being friend or foe, the best job in the world. It became my life. Nothing else mattered...

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[tab=30][tab=30]Normally the distance from Petrie Terrace to Eagle Junction took about twenty minutes to drive under normal conditions. We arrived outside of the bank exactly eight minutes from the time we received the radio call.
I now believed all the rumours to be true. He was a madman, a lunatic and needed to get to where he wanted to go in the quickest possible time. In the entire ruckus I didn’t pick up my revolver from the Stock Investigation Squad office. Other police at the bank had their guns drawn. I felt naked, I knew the bank robber had a gun and was ready to use it. I had nothing.
People stood in front of the bank and shouted when the police vehicle came to a screeching halt, ‘He’s gone up the road. He went into one of those houses.’ Someone pointed to houses down the street near the bank. My off sider was in his glory. He took control and shouted instructions to other police to follow us to the houses. It was utter chaos.
A feeling of excitement and fear came over me at once. This was my first day on a new job and to get caught up in a bank robbery sent shivers through my body. We searched each house. Each occupant gladly told us they hadn’t seen him. The search continued. The next house was empty.
‘Here quick, I’ll leg you up to the window and you go inside and see if anyone is in there.’ He said and grabbed my leg to push me through the open window.
‘Why me?’ I wanted to know.
‘See if he’s in there, chase him out and we’ll cover you’ at the same time he lifted my leg to help me.
‘What if the bank robber shot me while I was trying to get inside of the house,’ was my final words as I climbed inside. I was scared, my heart pounded, the palms of my hands sweaty as I creped through the empty house. Each floorboard creaked and the noise ricocheted around the empty room. I didn’t know if the bank robber was about to jump out from around the corner. No one was there thanked goodness...

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[tab=30]A position of Constable at Birdsville Police Station appeared in the Queensland Police Gazette. One of my other ambitions was to be in a town where I earned a larger wage than the Commissioner of Police. Birdsville was the place.
This opportunity only came up once in a blue moon for when a police officer was stationed at Birdsville, they tended to remain there for some time. I mentioned the idea of the transfer to the ‘Boss’ of the State Stock Squad. He was most agreeable and helped me with the transfer application.
Why did I want to go to the most isolated town in the State? There was a reason I was not destined to leave the Criminal Investigation Branch. A force larger than life itself protected me against myself to keep me on the right track I was to follow. After three months I was sent to the Robbery Unit. I didn’t receive the transfer to Birdsville.
I didn’t know my workmate personally but I’d heard many rumours if his reputation were anything to be believed. We were in the process of moving my possessions from the Stock Investigation Squad office to Selby House when a message broadcasted over the radio an armed hold-up was in progress at the Bank of New South Wales Eagle Junction.
‘Tell them we’re on our way, we’ll be there in eight minutes. Time me.’ He powered the police vehicle in the direction of the armed hold-up and placed the blue light on the roof at the same time activated the siren. The blue light revolved to signal it was an emergency. I thought I was in a television cop show but this was real. I hung onto the door handle with a vice like grip, while he drove.
He swerved in and out of traffic, blasted the horn, and at the same time called out, ‘Get out of the way, I’m in a hurry.’ The police vehicle was a Ford Falcon panelvan; it fishtailed from one side of the road to the other...