Customs detention of girl prompts inquiry

Press, 24 April 1987, Page 6

Customs detention of girl prompts inquiry

PA Wellington The Minister of Customs, Mrs Shields, has ordered a formal inquiry into an incident which saw customs officers detain a girl, aged 15, for almost nine hours. Rachel Willis, of Whangaparaoa, was held after a customs swoop at the Auckland container wharf last June when four cars from the United States were off-loaded. She and a friend, Mr Paul Dyer, her father, Mr Ken Willis, and another man, Mr Gerald StanleyHunt, were detained after a customs investigation found irregularities in the Importation of the Mustang cars.

Each was taken, in separate cars to the Customs Department’s Auckland offices and shown into separate rooms for questioning. At no time while Miss Willis was held was a woman officer present

As a result of the customs investigation, Messrs Willis and Mr StanleyHunt and a Customs Department officer, John Clarke, were charged with smuggling the cars into New Zealand and other offences.

In the District Court at Auckland last month, Messrs Willis and Stanley-

Hunt were acquitted of all charges.-; . Clarke was convicted on the smuggling charge, , on two counts, of under-valu-ing the cars with intent to defraud customs of sales tax, and on three charges of failing or refusing to comply with customs orders; to answer questions about importing the cars. In fines, costs and witnesses expenses, Clarke was orded to pay $4OOO. . ’ In giving his decision, Judge Gilbert criticised the department’s handling of the case.

“These matters were not part of the other side of the Customs Department operations, namely investigation for drugs, often where very serious crimes are. concerned where the department had right of search, seizure, detention and arr6st,” he said. >

, “These were revenue offences that were being siispected and those rights of the Customs Department were not involved.” ; Later in his decision, Judge Gilbert said: “I was concerned that senior officers of this department would come to this Court and say to me that these people, who were taken separately to the Customs Department to

separate rooms with two officers present throughout the day and kept — and I say ‘kept* because that is my belief, deliberately kept — for some eight or nine hours, then transported to Whangaparaoa while a search was carried out “It does not concern me so much that this happened, but for the officers to try to suggest to me that this was not a deliberate move to keep these people separate, to keep them detained and to come along to this Court and suggest to me they were voluntary, that they were happy to stay, that they were free to leave at any time, was degrading to my intelligence and to their own veracity.” The method of questioning of Messrs Willis and Stanley-Hunt was also attacked by the Judge. “It was. quite clear that a technique well known for interrogation was being adopted.

“We have on the one hand ones (Customs officers) who were being kind and sympathetic and on the other a senior officer who was adopting the role of ‘the baddie’ and coming along and standing over in a way of trying to drive home the matters to get a confession.

“Those are techniques that are well known.” The Judge said the result of those techniques of interrogation and the length of the interrogation might have been expected. “So far asthe interrogation and statements are concerned. A. lam left to be unsure as to what has been elicited by pure fear and concern and what other considerations that occurred in situations of that kind;” Judge Gilbert said, f- ' A -

Mrs Shields said the inquiry she had set up after the Judge’s comments would encompass the handling of the entire matter, including the Judge’s contention that customs had no right to detain the four people.and the manner of their interrogation. “Obviously I take any criticism of the department’s procedures seriously and this is being Investigated as a matter of course. “The holding of a 15-year-old with no female officer present forms part of the inquiry,” Mrs Shields said. The Minister said she expected the inquiry to be completed within the next week or two.