The Snitch: ‘Sting of the century’ battle heading to High Court

Which accused organised crime figures are heading to the High Court? Which troubled star needs a fact check? Who’s back on the bench after a stoush with Sally Dowling SC? The Snitch is here.

The battle over the organised crime bust known as ‘The Sting of the Century’ is heading to the High Court of Australia.

The approximately 50 accused crims caught in the AN0M sting are now waiting on a call from the High Court in their bid to have the evidence collected against them thrown out of court.

On Thursday, the High Court granted special leave to hear the case over whether the messages collected on the AN0M phones can be used in court as evidence.

A hearing will now happen on a future date.

A short catch up: The AN0Ms were phones that were marketed as having unbreakable encryption and were allegedly used to set up drug deals, murders and other nefarious activities.

AN0M was a Trojan Horse set up by the cops who circulated the phones in criminal circles and then sat back and collected messages as evidence.

But, in reality, they were a Trojan Horse set up by the cops who circulated the phones in criminal circles and then sat back and collected all the messages as evidence.

More than 800 suspects were arrested worldwide in 2021 when the sting was revealed.

Several high profile people were arrested in Sydney, including accused large scale drug smuggler Mostafa Baluch.

Accused large scale drug smuggler Mostafa Baluch. Picture: Richard Dobson

The approximately 50 people charged in NSW have been mounting a legal challenge in an attempt to have the evidence collected on the phones ruled inadmissable in court.

The 50 accused in NSW are piggy backing on a similar challenge made to the evidence in South Australia.

A challenge to the AN0M evidence was thrown out of the SA Court of Appeal leading to the High Court challenge.

And given that the High Court’s decision will be applied to the NSW cases, they have been put on hold until the decision comes down.

The highly technical argument includes whether the messages collected by the police were covered by their warrant.

FACT CHECK

Wendell Sailor’s post. Picture: Instagram

Troubled NRL star Wendell Sailor was on the PR offensive on social media following news that police charged over a drunken incident at an inner city bar.

The ex-dual international posted a photo with the word “facts” at the top followed by the caption “To all the people who messaged me today big love and thanks … also to the media get ur story straight – I didn’t strike anybody”.

Court records say police charged Sailor with five offences.

The charges are two counts of common assault, one of intimidation with intent to cause a person to fear physical harm, failing to leave a licensed venue when directed and offensive behaviour.

GUESS WHO’S BACK

Only weeks after his battle with top prosecutor Sally Dowling SC saw him publicly flogged and threatened with a benching, District Court Judge Robert Newlinds SC is back hearing crime.

Judge Newlinds copped a dressing down by the NSW Judicial Commission in August, which recommended he take a break from hearing criminal matters.

District Court Judge Robert Newlinds SC. Picture: Supplied

NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

Ms Dowling lodged a complaint against Judge Newlinds with the judicial watchdog.

She’d taken issue with him taking a verbal flamethrower to her office during costs hearing for a failed sexual assault case.

In a spray for the ages, Judge Newlinds accused Ms Dowling’s office of making “lazy and perhaps politically expedient” decisions to prosecute hopeless rape cases.

On Friday, Judge Newlinds sentenced two men who had pleaded guilty to a multimillion-dollar drug smuggling operation.

Read in tomorrow’s The Sunday Telegraph: NSW Judge Peter Whitford accuses Sally Dowling of an unnecessary attack on his personal life.