Roger Rogerson: How a missing-person report led to the capture of the state’s most notorious cop
THE inside story of how a missing-person report led police to capture the state’s most notorious cop, Roger Rogerson, who was this week found guilty of murder.
NSW
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“You are all about to make history.”
The briefing room at police headquarters was full. The entire resources of the Serious Crime and Robbery Squad had been called in by their boss, squad commander Detective Superintendent Luke Moore.
More than 50 detectives stood as Moore handed over to Detective Inspector Russell Oxford to give them the heads up for what was about to
take place.
He told them to remember this day.
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BENEATH THE GRIN WAS A COLD BLOODED KILLER
PART ONE: MEETINGS WITH MR BIG TO TRADE SECRETS
PART TWO: ROGERSON MAKES DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
PART THREE: ‘YOU TRICKED ME. THIS IS AN AMBUSH’
PART FOUR: GOOD COP CAUGHT IN THE LINE OF FIRE
PART FIVE: THE NOOSE TIGHTENS ON ROGER THE DODGER
Some of the detectives used to work with the two men they were about to take down but all had heard of them.
They were about to go out and arrest the most notorious corrupt policeman in Australian history: Roger Rogerson — and self-styled Kings Cross whistleblower Glen McNamara.
It was less than two days since lawyer Jasmine Lau walked into Kogarah police station in Sydney’s south, late in the afternoon of Wednesday May 21, 2014, and reported one of her clients, Jamie Gao, 20, was missing. She was followed that evening by two of Gao’s cousins concerned for his welfare.
At first it seemed like a kidnapping for ransom, which was why it went to the Serious Crime and Robbery Squad instead of the Homicide Squad.
Ironically, Serious Crime and Robbery was Rogerson’s old squad, once known as the armed holdup squad, where he made his reputation in the 1980s as a cop as hard as the men he chased.
Gao’s mother Katherine Gao wasn’t wealthy but she was well off, with a Hurstville mansion and a successful import business.
The young university student’s car was found abandoned in Stuart St, Padstow. But as detectives talked to Gao’s mates, the picture turned even more sinister. They said he had been excited about meeting a man called “Glen”.
His girlfriend said he knew a Glen McNamara. Inside Gao’s car was his wallet and mobile phone, one of the numbers on it was that of Glen McNamara.
The manhunt had begun.
McNamara, 57, was an embittered former detective who had quit in 1990 basically because everyone hated him — even Rogerson.
The Dodger had badmouthed him at the funeral of corrupt Kings Cross cop Graham “Chook” Fowler a couple of years earlier.
Not even going undercover to weed out police corruption in Kings Cross, including bribes paid to cops by two high-profile paedophiles Dolly Dunn and Colin Fisk, would gain McNamara any respect — among crooks or cops.
When he set up his own private detective agency, it was under the company name FUIPSU Pty Ltd — “F. k You Internal Police Security Unit.”
After police had found Gao’s car, they swamped the neighbouring streets and businesses, collecting all the CCTV footage.
At Mick’s Meats on Arab Rd, Padstow, the cameras had picked up Gao parking and getting out of his sporty Nissan carrying a plastic bag then getting into a white car.
Painstakingly they went through days of footage looking for the white car, a white Ford Falcon which they discovered had been bought at Lethbridge Park two weeks earlier by McNamara.
It led them to the Rent-A-Space storage units just 600m away and a face that was all too familiar.
“Boss, you’re not going to believe it. Rogerson’s here.”
Rogerson, 75, needed no introduction. The man who joked that he should change his name by deed poll to “disgraced former detective Roger Rogerson” was a character you could never invent. He was the real deal.
Decorated, touted as a future police commissioner, disgraced and resurrected, he had hit the speaking circuit with the likes of notorious Melbourne crook Chopper Read after two stints in jail.
His informants had been Neddy Smith and missing hitman Christopher Dale Flannery, whose murder he had been involved in even if he did not strike the fatal blow.
“Flannery’s mad,” he would say when asked about him years later. “He was out of control. When they are out of control they have to go.”
The detectives were gobsmacked to spot Rogerson. He hadn’t even been on the radar. CCTV footage showed McNamara ushering Gao into unit 803, followed three minutes later by Rogerson. Only the two ex-cops walked out.
The footage showed them reversing their cars up to the unit and carrying out Gao’s body wrapped in a grey surfboard bag. They put it in the back of McNamara’s car, covered it with office chairs from the unit and drove off
in convoy.
The next day they were captured on camera returning — this time both in McNamara’s old blue car registered to his name — to Unit 803 to clean up. Rogerson was carrying a green bucket.
Meanwhile Gao’s body had been taken to McNamara’s unit complex, where he lived with his two daughters.
Unbelievably, on the day of the murder, the two ex-cops were caught on CCTV footage hiring a block and tackle at Kennards in Taren Point. Their rego number was even noted on the receipt.
Wrapped in a blue tarpaulin, the body was placed in McNamara’s boat using the block and tackle. He had retrieved the boat from storage the day before.
Then the two men were seen in the elevator going up to McNamara’s unit with a six-pack of beer. Brought down by their arrogance and brazenness and an unrelenting squad of detectives, the hunt was ramped up.
Veteran homicide investigator Oxford and his colleagues, including another ex-homicide cop Mick Sheehy, put it all under the cone of silence. No one outside their squad was to know what was going on.
The only other officer briefed was Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione. Not even his deputy commissioners were told.
The boys were all wound up and ready to go when Oxford briefed them and told them: “You are all about to make history.”
At 4am on Saturday morning, May 24, they went to McNamara’s unit complex where they found his car parked underneath. When they saw what was under the front seat, they called their boss.
“Boss, you’re not going to believe it. We found the drugs.”
The white plastic bag carried by Gao contained enough methamphetamine to make $3 million worth of ice. It was inside a brown pillowcase inside a green backpack.
The receipt for two brown pillowcases bought by McNamara from Kmart was later found on him.
“We had it all wrapped up in a bow,” one detective said.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that McNamara discovered his car was missing — and frantically tried to call Rogerson, who was up in Brisbane on a speaking appointment. He was staying with Chopper Read’s former bodyguard.
Dumb and dumber, McNamara drove to Cooma prison where he visited an inmate. Not just any inmate. This was former Bondi surfer Shayne Hatfield, serving 26 years for heading one of Sydney’s biggest cocaine importation rackets, $30 million worth from South America using corrupt Sydney Airport baggage handlers.
Both McNamara and Rogerson had already visited Hatfield several times. He was an associate of one of Sydney’s best-known crooks, Michael Hurley, who had been convicted in the same operation, and who was a mate of Rogerson’s.
At 1pm that Sunday, Moore fronted a press conference to say young Asian student Jamie Gao was missing. He repeatedly said Gao may have got into something over his head but never hinted that police already had two infamous suspects.
At 6.30pm that evening, McNamara was arrested after his car was stopped in Kyeemagh on his way home from visiting Hatfield.
Officers had also searched Rogerson’s Padstow home and taken away a silver Ford Falcon station wagon, as well as the green bucket and the clothes he had worn on the day of the murder.
Oxford and Sheehy, who between them had more than 35 years experience locking up killers, had flown to Brisbane to find Rogerson, who had a flight booked back to Sydney. They suspected he had fled.
Rogerson was on the road, driving south.
The Dodger always liked to be in the driver’s seat, in more ways than one. He arranged through his solicitor to attend Sydney Police Centre in the city at lunchtime on the Tuesday to hand himself in.
In his dreams.
More than a dozen Serious Crime and Robbery Squad officers took him by surprise at 11am on Monday, surrounding his house and climbing over the back fence to make sure he could not flee.
They walked him out in handcuffs in the full glare of the media.
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