Criminal Law
16.08.16
Nemesis to receive $6.4 million
The ACT government has announced that Taskforce Nemesis, a police taskforce set up to tackle Canberra’s infamous motorcycle gangs, will receive an extra $6.4 million in funding, the Canberra Times reports. This is announced just weeks after the controversial anti-consorting laws were deferred.
The Canberra Times reports the taskforce is expected to more than double its capability with the recruitment of eight extra staff, extra investigators, intelligence officers and a forensic accountant.
Supposedly the taskforce will be targeting the criminal activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs and serious organised crime groups around money laundering, unexplained wealth, drug use, drug trafficking and all other organised crime activities that are prevalent in Canberra.
ACT’s Chief Police Officer Rudi Lammers said that the taskforce had brought almost 170 charges against close to 60 gang members since its inception in 2014.
Ben Aulich & Associates have recently been involved in two Nemesis prosecutions. One for the heinous offence of failing to enrol to vote (which attracts a fine of less than $100) and the other for a charge of driving whilst license suspended. Both of these hearings took numerous AFP officers off the street and into Court to give evidence and in both matters our clients, who are apparently members of motorcycle gangs, were found not guilty and the AFP were ordered to pay the legal costs.
Perhaps the Government needs to spend our money more wisely and investigate what Nemesis actually does with taxpayer dollars rather than throwing more good money after bad.