Mafia link to letter bomb

He was believed to have been handling the letter bomb in his office after it had been examined, scanned and cleared by security staff at the NCA offices in Waymouth Street in the heart of the city.

Police sources said an NCA courier had collected the letter from the NCA postbox in the Adelaide mail exchange. It is believed that the letter was addressed to Sergeant Bowen.

Five other people were injured in the blast at 9.15 am on the 12th floor of the CPS credit union building.

Mr Peter Wallis, a lawyer in his early 40s who had worked for the NCA for eight years, received serious injuries and was undergoing surgery at Royal Adelaide Hospital last night. He had burns to more than 40 per cent of his body.

The remaining four, one of them an analyst, received minor injuries, including smoke inhalation, and were discharged. For security reasons, their names were not released.

Other staff were being counselled while the NCA called in more officers from Sydney and Melbourne. Some staff had been “traumatically affected” by the blast, said the head of the NCA, Mr Tom Sherman, QC.

Security was tightened at NCA offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth as NCA officers suspected there might be further attacks.

Mr Sherman announced that security at all offices was being reviewed urgently, and said he had no problems with any outside review of the NCA’s security measures.

Law enforcement officers said last night that the Adelaide office was involved in Operation Cerberus, set up in June 1992 as part of a nationwide investigation into Mafia activity.

The case in which Sergeant Bowen was to testify was a section of Matter 14 of the NCA’s references – part of a national reference granted by the inter-governmental committee of the NCA into Italian organised crime in June 1992.

Although there had been an earlier reference into Italian organised crime in Australia, the latest one was established when law enforcement chiefs decided that there was a need for a continuing investigation into aspects of Mafia crime.

Task force raids resulting in several arrests in Griffith and Sydney late last year are also believed to have been part of that reference.

Sergeant Bowen was due to give evidence in a major trial in coming weeks. He had been seconded to the NCA from Western Australia in 1992, and was about to be given a two-year extension.

A West Australian police source said last night that Sergeant Bowen had received death threats over investigations in that State which led to eight men being jailed for cultivating drugs.

In Adelaide, scientific detectives were trying to piece together human remains, stationery, office equipment and building material. The blast was so strong that plate glass windows were hurled more than 50 metres. The blast area – covering about 70 metres – was still sealed off last night.

Mr Sherman, who flew from Melbourne yesterday afternoon, visited Mr Bowen’s widow, Jane, and his two children, aged eight and five.

At a press conference at South Australia police headquarters later he said: “This is clearly a cowardly attack on the NCA. Too often … (the media)forgets people lay their lives on the line and the people the NCA investigate in organised crime are capable of these actions …”

Mr Sherman said the attack “served no purpose whatsoever and only increased our resolve”.

He said that despite the sophistication of the NCA’s vetting procedures, there were some explosives, including plastic devices, that could not be picked up.

There was no reason to suspect any lapse in security procedures.

Mr Sherman said that the NCA should not be criticised for having offices in city centres. “We could put the NCA out at Ayers Rock and surround it by three kilometres of security but the quality of life for the staff would be inferior.”

The Prime Minister described the attack as “wicked and evil”.

Mr Keating said he would expect a review of security in NCA offices and that the Government would consider compensation for the victims and their families.

The South Australian Police Commissioner, Mr David Hunt, said the murder was of “national importance and significance” and he appealed to the community for help. “We don’t work alone. It’s not just here but interstate as well.” A toll free number of 008 063500 was set up.

Loading

The task force, comprising detectives from the NCA, the Australian Federal Police and South Australian police, will be joined by scientific personnel from other States in the next few days. It will be headed by two assistant commissioners from the South Australian police.

Detective Sergeant Bowen joined the WA police force in 1976 and had worked with the Major Crime Squad and the Drug Squad. Yesterday was his ninth wedding anniversary.

It is the second time a police officer attached to the NCA has been murdered. A NSW officer was killed in 1992.