Court hears top cop 'desperate for money'

By court reporter Jamelle Wells
Updated March 16, 2011 14:02:00

A court has heard former New South Wales Crime Commission investigator Mark Standen used his inside knowledge in a plot to import 300kg of pseudoephedrine.

Mark Standen has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to import the drug, to taking part in supplying it and perverting the course of justice.

In his opening address Crown Prosecutor Tim Game SC said the 54-year-old was an experienced narcotics investigator who worked with a well-known drug trafficker James Kinch and businessman Bakhos Jalalaty to import the drug - which can be used to manufacture "speed" or "ice".

The prosecutor alleged the plot involved importing at least 300kg of pseudoephedrine in a container of rice coming from Pakistan.

The court heard the drugs would be stored in a Sydney warehouse associated with Bakhos Jalalaty's business.

"The crown case is the accused's motive in committing these offences was financial," Mr Game said.

He told the jurors they will hear intercepted phone calls showing Mark Standen was "desperate for money", because he had spent beyond his means.

The prosecutor said Mark Standen has spent 30 years in law enforcement and was employed to investigate and reduce the incidence of illegal drug trafficking and other crime.

He said he had an inside knowledge of police procedures and working with informers.

Mark Standen sat in the dock taking notes during the prosecutors opening.

His trial continues.