Another drug raid bungle

Another drug raid bungle

By Alex Cooper

MELBOURNE — Following the highly publicised drug raid bungle of May 21, in which a van was pulled up outside St Vincent's Hospital and a group of charity collectors for the Muscular Dystrophy Association were ambushed by shotgun-wielding plainclothes police, the Victorian police have done it again.

This time the target was a block of flats in the outer suburb of Dandenong. At 7 a.m. they raided the first floor flat where a Polish immigrant couple named Lonski live with their daughter. All three were thrown to the floor and handcuffed while their flat was searched.

Half an hour later, Tam Yap, a ground floor resident of the same block of flats, woke to the sound of breaking glass and a smashing sound outside. As she went to investigate the noise, the four-month-pregnant Tam Yap was hit by the door which the police smashed in. The police entered and her flat was searched.

It would appear that the person police were looking for left that block of flats some six months ago. Embarrassed police had to apologise to the Lonskis and Tam Yap.

From GLW issue 99