Australian Baggage Busters Face Inquiry

It's not a good time to be a baggage handler at an Australian airport -- especially if you're a crooked one.

Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison called for the Australian Crime Commission is to "conduct a national intelligence investigation in relation to criminal activity at our major airports," after he and Transport Minister John Anderson were blindsided by a government report on "rampant corruption" at Sydney Airport, which the Cabinet members never saw until it appeared in The Australian on May 31st.

Aero-News readers first saw allegations of corruption and smuggling, and reports of government investigations into theft and smuggling rings, in our report on the drug-smuggling conviction of Australian tourist Schappelle Corby in Indonesia.

At that time, Australian Federal Police were investigating a cocaine smuggling ring among the baggage handlers. Corby's lawyer attempted, without success, to introduce this evidence into her Indonesian trial. Corby was convicted and is serving a twenty-year sentence.

The new report seems to speak not of the cocaine ring per se, but of other problems in Sydney's baggage bays. It was particularly critical of loose vetting procedures for airport workers.

"The report by Australian Customs detailed a situation of near anarchy at the airport, with corrupt baggage handlers, many with criminal convictions, and Muslim extremists infiltrating airport security," reporters Jonathan Porter and Martin Chulov wrote in the Australian.

Despite the shocking revelations in the report, no government functionary would admit knowledge of the document to the reporters. Not only the cabinet ministers, but Qantas (which employs many of the suspect baggage handlers) and the airport manager denied knowledge of the customs report, and staunchly defended existing security measures.

Suspected terrorist Bilal Khazal, who is awaiting trial on multiple terror-related charges, was a Qantas baggage handler at the time of his May, 2004 arrest. Khazal denies any tie to terrorism, but admits a deep admiration for Osama bin Laden, and insists that it would be natural for any Muslim to feel that way.

FMI: www.crimecommission.gov.au