Police supergrass exploited his new identity to avoid jail in another state

A crook who got a new identity for giving evidence for the cops has exploited his born again status to avoid jail after he got busted for drugs in another state.

A police rollover witness exploited the benefits of being granted a new identity to avoid being sent to jail after he was charged over a drug supply operation.

In a case that has revealed a stunning loophole, the career criminal had been allowed to change his identity because he was a police informer who had agreed to give evidence against multiple groups of dangerous criminals.

His new identity had a different name, different date of birth and no criminal record attached to it.

But after making the deal, the man travelled interstate where he was arrested and charged over a large-scale drug operation.

The man – whose name has been suppressed – pleaded guilty over the commercial drug operation in an interstate court and was convicted under his new identity.

The man was given a new identity.

When it came time to be sentenced, the man neglected to tell the interstate court about the lengthy criminal record he had amassed under his old identity.

His record included multiple drug supply convictions.

The man had drug convictions under his old identity.

The interstate prosecuting lawyers failed to link the man to his old identity.

It is not known if NSW Police told their interstate counterparts about the man’s backstory.

It resulted in the court sentencing the man as if he was a first-time offender and a “person of prior good character” rather than the career criminal he actually was.

The man was given a suspended sentence, meaning he was allowed to serve his term in the community rather than behind bars.

He would have almost certainly been sentenced to jail time had the interstate court been made aware of his criminal record, sources said.

Sources said the interstate prosecuting lawyers failed to investigate the man’s history and did not link him to his former identity.

The sources said it was disputed as to whether the NSW Police told their interstate counterparts about the man’s criminal history and his status as a rollover witness.

The man also did not volunteer any information to the court about his criminal past, the sources said.

The case illustrates the occasionally dangerous grey areas police enter into when doing deals with criminals in an attempt to solve crimes.

One source, who has worked for multiple prosecuting and criminal intelligence agencies, said the case potentially demonstrated the long standing problem of Australia’s policing and prosecuting agencies not communicating with each other.

The man was sentenced as if he was a first-time offender for drug supply.

“Cops have never spoken to their interstate counterparts – they just don’t do it,” the source said. “They might have their reasons, but this is what can happen.”

The source said that while a supergrass witness abusing their new identity to avoid jail is rare, a lack of communication between Australia’s state police is not.

Another legal source said, “Rollover witnesses can be a double edge sword.”

“On one hand they can provide valuable evidence because they are criminals who were inside the criminal tent,” the source said.

“On the other, they are criminals – so being dishonest and lying to suit their own ends is not too much of a stretch.”

NSW Police minister Yasmine Catley declined to comment on the situation as did a spokeswoman for the NSW Police.

The Sunday Telegraph has been told no action has been taken to rectify the man’s case and he has not been charged with misleading the interstate court.

A spokesman from the Queensland Department of Justice declined to confirm this or comment on the situation.

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