Resetar police documents acquired by co-defendant

Press, 7 September 1982, Page 7

Resetar police documents acquired by co-defendant

PA Wellington New Zealand police documents on a girl arrested in Thailand for a heroin offence found their way into the hands' of her co-defendant’s father, the Minister of Police, Mr Couch, has confirmed in Parliament. But Mr Couch said that neither the National Drug Intelligence Bureau nor the New Zealand police were in these transactions” which saw copies of the documents change hands. The Opposition again raised the case of New Zealand girl, Andrea Resetar. who is serving a 33-year, four-month sentence in the

Bangkok women’s prison. Mr F. D: O’Flynn (Lab., Island Bay) asked Mr Couch what information, if any, the bureau supplied to the father of Mathew Cosio — the man arrested with Resetar but released and allowed to leave Thailand on the grounds of extreme illhealth. Mr Couch said the police liaison officer at the New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok supplied the Thailand police with two documents relating to Resetar. One was a copy of a bureau suspect persons alert advice, and the other gave details of a previous conviction and pending charges.'

The Minister said this type ■ of information is regularly ■ exchanged between law enforcement agencies. “The two documents became part of the Thailand police investigation file and , were later handed to the public prosecutor. The Thai ’* solicitor acting for Mathew Cosio obtained from the public prosecutor copies of the document relating to Andrea Resetar." Mr Couch added: “Mr Cosio senior also obtained a copy of the two documents ‘ from his son’s solicitor Neither the bureau nor the' New Zealand police were involved in these transactions.”