The Australian Supreme Court has cleared four North Koreans of involvement in drug smuggling. The Koreans in question were the ship’s master, chief mate, chief engineer and political secretary of the North Korean freighter Pungsu, which was seized by Australian special forces and police after some 125 kilograms of pure heroin was smuggled from the ship into Victoria in April 2003.
(Hat tip to reader)
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Interestingly, and no doubt, to the chagrin of the Americans, involvement of the North Korean government in the transaction was ruled out.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/.....47923.html
Was this a political gesture, or evidence of sane Australian jurisdiction?
On another note - what will happen when the four crew members are repatriated (they won’t be deported)?
What happened to the other crew members who were sent back not so long ago?
This verdict seems kind of inexplicable to me; How could they not be guilty…?
And how could anyone possibly think that the NK government wasn’t involved — what’s the source of that junk, who refined it? Who grew the poppies? Can’t they chemically trace it?