‘Mr Asia’ leader no angel — counsel

Press, 3 June 1981, Page 7

‘Mr Asia’ leader no angel — counsel

NZPA Lancaster "Mr Asia" trial jurors would be less than human if they did not dislike the alleged ring leader. Alexander Sinclair, his counsel submitted yesterday. Not only was Sinclair no angel, Mr Robin Simpson. Q.C.. said, but "very, very far from it. He is on his own admission someone who dealt in the past in Thai sticks (cannabis) on a vast scale. "And equally unattractive to you. he made a fortune out of it." But Mr Simpson said that all he asked of the seven men and five women was that they be fair. Lawyers could walk away from the Court at the end of the case, but the verdicts would stay with the jurors for the rest of their lives, he said. The Court has heard Sinclair say the Thai stick trafficking took place in Australia and New Zealand, not England where he is charged. Mr Simpson was speaking at the start of his final speech in the drugs conspiracy and murder trial. He followed the Crown counsel. Mr Michael Maguire, Q.C., who closed a 173witness, 335-exhibit prosecution case by reminding the jury of their oath to try the case fairly. In the course of his speech Mr Simpson referred twice to the part played by Austra-

lasian authorities in this trial. Of a limited immunity granted -by Australia and New Zealand to a defence witness, Mr simpson said it was "not worth the paper it was written on" and held a "sting" because it was not an immunity in the ordinary sense. Earlier he asked where a "full file" held be 7 Lancashire police on Sinclair came from. "Bongo-bongo land? Of course it wasn't — it was from Australia," A heavily-built Londoner, aged 53, with smoothly neat robes and a shock of silver hair escaping from his wig. Mr Simpson's voice filled the cavernous courtroom as he emphasised points to the jurv. "The Crown case against Sinclair is this." he said, "that he was a ringleader in an international conspiracy to export drugs from the Far East.' “That in that conspiracy there were two operations in which he was personally involved — one. the couriering of heroin from Singapore to Australia and in two cases New Zealand — two, that he was involved in couriering heroin from Singapore to England. “As far as count three is concerned, the Crown case is very simply that in furtherance of the conspiracy he committed murder." Sinclair conceded that he had been in the past a, Thai

stick dealer, and had associated with Christopher Martin Johnstone, the slain NewZealand drugs buyer. This included one “very big" operation with Johnstone and the Chinese coconspirator Choo Cheng Kui, and the laundering and investing of money; through Singapore companies. "He emphatically denies — and these are the very- issues you will have to try — that he was part of a Singapore-Australia-New- Zealand operation smuggling heroin and he emphatically denies he was part of an operation smuggling heroin and Thai sticks into England. "He concedes he was responsible for sending a parcel in which there was a gun (used to shoot Johnstone). "He did so in the firm belief that the parcel did not contain a gun but money." Mr Simpson said Sinclair pleaded guilty to the charge of supplying drugs in Britain because in September, 1979, during a telephone conversation from Los Angeles with an admitted London conspirator, Frederick Russell, Sinclair agreed to put tip 148,000 sterling (now about $NZ349.000) for a cocaine deal in Britain. The Q.C. divided the evidence against Sinclair into five sections. First there was the “Australian" evidence of a Queenslander, Kay Reynolds, a Victorian, Carolyn Calder.

and a New Zealander, Alllison Dine — all admitted couriers. There was the evidence of an admitted Los Angeles pimp and drug dealer, Benjamin Bennett, “for, what it is worth." and some from Barbara Pilkington, the-de facto wife of Johnstone's adrrtitted murderer. Andrew Mahers Then there was the relevance of some important exhibits, and lastly the evidence of the police. Much of what Sinclair was alleged to have said in police interviews w-as not. unhappily, true, Mr Simpson said. Asserting that the jurors and himself should "put on the icepack and get down to it." Mr Simpson started with the women couriers' evidence. They have been granted immunities from prosecution in Britain and, Mr Simpson said that, "it may be said that the witnesses are lying their heads off in order to justify their immunities." An’ "awful lot” that they said actually happened, he said. But the danger with Dine and Reynolds was that because they were telling the truth about a great deal they sounded, convincing. Reynolds, he said, had lied about the presence of another alleged courier, Liz Tully, during ,a herpin run from Singapore. “If she is capable of telling lies not to implicate someone, then you might think she

is just as capable of telling lies in order to implicate someone," • ■ - But ;Mr Simpson said that with' one exception their evidence did not implicate Sinclair in the English operation. That exception in Dines evidence was so important. Mr Simpson said, that he called it the “link evidence.” joining the Australian and English operations. Mr Simpson forecast he would show today that Dine had committed "demonstrable perjury" on this absolutely vital matter. Earlier yesterday, the Crown closed its case. It asked that the jury accept nothing other than the “full proof” against the nine defendants. After the evidence of 173 prosecution witnesses and the presentation of 335 exhibits. the chief Crown counsel, Mr Michael Maguire. Q.C., concluded his 15-hour final speech by reminding jurors of their oath to try the case fairly. "You must be satified as to their guilt," Mr Maguire said. He told the Court that the five charged with the murder of Johnstone- were all as guilty as if they had fired the gun that killed him. He said the five with others were all connected to another commitment. “That commitment that bound together people from the far corners of the earth was a conspiracy." he said.

He said it was the end of this conspiracy (alleged to have begun in Australasia) to traffic in drugs anywhere in the world. But Mr Maguire added: "Only in this country can the Crown prosecute. It cannot touch anyone involved in San Francisco or Singapore or Brisbane or Sydney." After the conclusion of defence counsel speeches, the trial judge will sum up and the jury will retire to consider 16 separate verdicts.