Prosecutors allege Domenic Perre blew up NCA building in 1994 over festering hatred for police sparked by $20m drug raid

The bomb that destroyed the NCA building in 1994 was the end result of a festering hatred for police sparked by the discovery and disruption of a $20 million drug crop, a court has heard.

Domenic Perre being led into the Adelaide Magistrates Court following his second arrest in 2018. Picture: NINE NEWS.

• Long-time NCA bombing suspect on trial, 26 years later

The loss of a $20 million cannabis crop was “the beginning of a hatred” within Domenic Perre that “developed and festered” into the 1994 NCA bombing, a court has heard.

In a 60-page document, tendered to the Supreme Court, prosecutors have outlined their long-gestating case against Perre, who has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder.

The document spans almost 30 years of investigations, incorporating information from dozens of witnesses, forensic experts, prison informants and a criminologist specialising in the Mafia.

Its author, Sandi McDonald SC, asserts losing a lucrative drug crop ignited Perre’s loathing for police – which intensified when members of his family were refused bail to attend his mother’s funeral.

“(The loss of the crop) was the beginning of a hatred toward law enforcement, and ultimately the NCA and Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen in particular,” she writes.

“(It was) a hatred that developed and festered over the coming months and ultimately led to the death of Bowen.

“(Refusing bail was a) slight to the Perre family (that) would have only further negatively impacted on the accused and his attitude toward law enforcement.”

A police reconstruction of the bomb used to blow up the NCA Building in 1994.

Perre, 61, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Detective Sergeant Bowen and attempting to murder lawyer Peter Wallis with a parcel bomb on March 2, 1994.

He was originally charged days after the explosion, but those allegations were dropped six months later with prosecutors saying there was “no reasonable chance of conviction”.

In the document, Ms McDonald says the origins of the bombing date back to August 1993, when a drug crop run by Perre and members of his family at Hidden Valley, NT, was raided by police.

Perre – one of the “main players” in the crop – allegedly told police “get f---ed you son of a bitch, if I ever get my hands on you I’ll waste you”.

Ms McDonald says Bowen became involved a month later and, quickly, he and Perre became antagonistic with one another.

At one stage, she says, Bowen “goaded and belittled” Perre, who was so angry at the state of his house following a search that he videotaped it.

Perre at his home in September 1994, after the charges were dropped the first time.

She says Perre undertook courses in surveillance and tracking, telling friends the NCA was “breaking his balls” and that its officers “could teach the Nazis a lot”.

The document outlines the chemical and mechanical composition of the bomb, alleging Perre had the knowledge to make and disguise it due to books found at his premises.

Ms McDonald says Perre’s fingerprints were found on pages in books called “Homemade C4: a Recipe for Survival”, “C4’s Ugly Sister” and “Smuggling Made Easier”.

She further alleges Perre was repeatedly recorded discussing the chemicals used in the bomb, and frequented electronic shops from which components of its detonator could be sourced.

Perre, she alleges, divested himself of his financial assets in the wake of the bombing and tried to convince friends to give him alibis.

He also allegedly discussed the bombing during his subsequent prison stints for different offending, calling police “dogs” and Bowen “that piece of s---”.

Ms McDonald says the information provided by the informants is, on its own, enough to convict Perre of both offences.

“However, that evidence does not stand alone,” she writes.

“It is surrounded by a large body of circumstantial evidence which, when considered together, establishes beyond reasonable doubt that (Perre) was responsible.”

The trial, before Justice Kevin Nicholson, continues.

SPECIAL FEATURE – THE CASE AGAINST DOMENIC PERRE, IN-DEPTH

The fatal 1994 NCA bombing in Adelaide

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Originally published as Prosecutors allege Domenic Perre blew up NCA building in 1994 over festering hatred for police sparked by $20m drug raid