N.Z. man 'Wilson slayer'

Press, 30 August 1980, Page 1

N.Z. man 'Wilson slayer'

NZPA Melbourne The Melbourne Coroner (Mr Kevin Mason) found yesterday that the New Zealand drug couriers, Douglas Robert Wilson, aged 26, and his wife, Isabel Martha Wilson, aged 24, were murdered by the alleged drug ring leader, Terrence John Clark, and a person or persons unknown.

The Wilsons’ bullet-rid-den bodies 'were found in a shallow grave near Rye, 100 km south-east of Melbourne, on May 18 last year. The Coroner then issued a warrant for the arrest of Clark, who is in jail in Lancaster, England, on a charge of murder relating to the death of another New Zealander, Christopher Martin Johnston, whose body’ was found in a quarry in Lancashire on October 14. last year. Clark, who has boasted to the British police that he has SNZSO million in a Swiss bank, will stand trial for the Johnston murder in January, next year. The Coroner found that the Wilsons were murdered between April 13 and May IS, in Victoria last year. He found that Clark had paid out $NZ275,000 for the killing of the Wilsons. In his summing up the Coroner said: “There is no doubt that a huge drug empire grew within Australia under the leadership of Clark, and this involved many other people.

“This involved the employment of many

people, including the Wilsons, within the organisation, to purchase heroin from Asian countries, smuggle it into Australia, and then distribute it within this country for enormous profit. “The amount of heroin brought into Australia and its potential street value exceeds all prior drug trafficking in this country. This amount of money that changed hands in these deals must be beyond the comprehension of many people.

“It was in this scene that many were caught up in the money game, and greed for profit made them lose all proportion as to moral or legal obligations to others.” The Coroner said that even life became cheap in proportion to the profits to be made, and three persons were murdered and possibly another two, who disappeared with no trace found.

“The evidence before me indicates that not only did persons within the drug organisation get carried away by mercenary greed, but apparently so did others in official Government positions of law enforcement.

“Others, who could best be described as being on the fringe, were also prepared to accept tainted money for their efforts on behalf of the drug ring and its members. “The evidence tendered has positively indicated that the Wilsons were murdered within this state, and I might add,

that in relation to the over-all scene that was the only incident in the whole sordid story that took place within this state.

“I am not able to establish by whom they were actually shot. There is an abundance of evidence to support the contention that Clark counselled and procured their murders, and I propose to issue warrants for his apprehension on charges of murder.”

The Coroner said: “There are two persons who were called as witnesses who, according to other evidence called. I am satisfied could have been able to give information to these inquiries which might have enabled me to find who was the actual person, or persons, who fired the fatal shots. But those two particular persons chose to remain silent and claimed privi-

leges, pursuant to section 29 of the Evidence Act, 1958.”

He was referring to a Cabramatta, New South Wales shopkeeper, Robert Trimbole, and a Sydney legal clerk, Brian Alexander, who were excused from giving evidence in case they incriminated themselves. The Coroner said that the drug empire was run mainly in Sydney and that on many occasions the drugs brought into Australia were brought from Asia and landed at Brisbane.

“The evidence disclosed that many persons whose names were given in evidence carried out smuggling and allied functions in relation to this drug ring. Organised crime and corruption ran rampant. Many breaches of the lawhave been disclosed.” The Coroner said that the breaches included the

obtaining of duplicate passports by false statements, the obtaining of passports by false information and in false names, and narcotics agents falsifying evidence and inventing evidence of persons being in possession of drugs by placing drugs on those persons. - The breaches also included practices by a legal firm in New South Wales, law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth service receiving payment for passing official information; some suggestion that police officers in either New South Wales, or Queensland, improperly passed official information, importing drugs, trafficking in drugs, possession of drugs, murders, and many forms of cons piracy to commit breaches of the law and to pervert the course of justice. , '