40 witnesses in crime fighter's trial

Arrested last month: senior Commission official Mark Standen. (ABC, file photo)

Jodie Minus From: The Australian March 15, 2011 12:00AM

THE drug-plot trial of one-time crime fighter Mark Standen began in Sydney yesterday, almost three years after the former crime commission boss was arrested.

Mr Standen is facing trial in the NSW Supreme Court charged with conspiring to import a substance to manufacture drugs, supplying pseudoephedrine and perverting the course of justice.

The 53-year-old former assistant director of the NSW Crime Commission was arrested in June 2008 and has been in custody since then after a judge ruled he would present a flight risk if released.

The trial jury of six men and six women was sworn in yesterday in front of judge Bruce James and the opening argument from the crown is expected to begin tomorrow.

The trial is set to run for two months and will hear from more than 40 witnesses, including current and former AFP officers, employees of the NSW Crime Commission and officers from Dutch law enforcement agencies.

Justice James instructed the jury not to search the internet for articles or information about Mr Standen. The father of four was one of the country's top law enforcement figures before he was arrested in 2008 over an alleged plot to import 300kg of pseudoephedrine, valued at $120 million.

The AFP investigated the case for more than two years before Mr Standen was arrested.