Pong Su incident

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The Pong Su incident occurred during April 2003 when members of the Australian Special Operations Command intercepted and boarded the Pong Su, a North Korean ocean freighter in Australian territorial waters. The ship was suspected of being involved in smuggling almost 150 kg (330 pounds) of heroin into Australia.

The Pong Su hit by a 2000lb laser-guided bomb
The Pong Su hit by a 2000lb laser-guided bomb

The Pong Su (봉수호) was a 349-foot (106 m) a 3743 tonne ocean freighter registered in Tuvalu and North Korean owned. The ship was flying the flag of Tuvalu as it is known as a flag of convenience. Searches of the ship by Australian authorities revealed the ship had been modified for long voyages and was carrying enough fuel and provisions to travel around the world without needing to port.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Trafficking

On April 16, 2003, police in Australia observed the Pong Su close to shore at Boggaley Creek near the seaside town of Lorne in Victoria and followed two Chinese suspects on the shore as they left the beach and headed for a near-by hotel. The next morning, the two suspects were apprehended at their hotel with 50 kg of pure heroin. Then, in a search of the beach at Boggaley Creek, Australian police discovered the body of a North Korean recently buried close to a dinghy. It is suspected that the dinghy had capsized while bringing the heroin ashore, drowning one of the North Koreans. Police also apprehended another North Korean in the immediate area. Unable to get back to his boat, he had simply remained in the area where the drugs came ashore the night before. A third ethnic Chinese drug trafficking suspect was also taken into custody. A further 75 kg of heroin in similar packaging was discovered buried near Lorne in May 2003.

[edit] Operation Sorbet

The Australian government ordered the Pong Su into harbour, however the ship attempted to escape into international waters. After a four day chase, known as Operation Sorbet, the Pong Su was captured after Australian Army Special Operations Forces stormed the ship in a helicopter landing. The Pong Su was secured and brought into port in Sydney.

Some 30 men were arrested and detained, one who, according to Australian media reports, was a member of the North Korean ruling party who served as senior envoy in Pyongyang's embassy in Beijing. It has been alleged that the North Korean government may have been involved in the manufacture and trade of the drugs. The North Korean government stated the ship was a 'civilian trading ship', and the ship's owner had no knowledge of the illegal cargo.

[edit] Drug charges

The ethnic Chinese suspects and the captain and crew of the Pong Su were charged with narcotics trafficking. Most significantly, an official of the governing Korean Workers' Party was found on board, linking the drug shipment to Kim Jong-il's government. The Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer called in the North Korean Ambassador to lodge a formal protest.

Drug charges were laid against the ship's entire crew. Twenty-seven crew members were discharged on March 5, 2004[1] by a magistrate on the basis that there was insufficient evidence for them to stand trial. While awaiting deportation, the crew were held in Baxter Detention Centre; during which time they were questioned by federal authorities.[2] They were deported from Australia on June 24, 2004.[3]

Four senior crew members were kept in Australia to face a jury trial. They were:

  • Choe Dong-song (취동송), 61, the ship's political secretary
  • Song Man-seon (송만선), 65, the ship's captain
  • Lee Jin-man (이진만), 51, the first officer
  • Lee Jon-ju (이존주), 51, the chief engineer

All four crew members pleaded not guilty at the beginning of their trial in August 2005. (Another four men - from Malaysia, Singapore and China, and not part of the ship's crew - had already pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the importation of a commercial quantity of heroin.)

The prosecution case against the four North Korean officers was that they would have allowed their ship to be stopped in the position it was if they were not aware that the real purpose of their voyage was to smuggle the heroin. The prosecution did not allege any official involvement of the PDRK Government (North Korean government), only the officers on board the ship.

On March 2, 2004, the US State Department released a report using the incident to link Kim Jong-il's government to drugs trafficking.

[edit] Acquitted

On 5 March 2006, a Supreme Court jury found the ship's four officers not guilty on all charges and subsequently deported.[4]

[edit] Fate of the Pong Su

After capture the ship was brought to Sydney Harbour where it was originally moored at Garden Island naval base, Woolloomooloo. From there it was taken to Snails Bay, and moored for over two years, where it was reportedly costing over $2500 a day for maintenance and security.[5] Finally it was taken to Chowder Bay in early 2006 while authorities decided what to do with it.[6]

Authorities eventually decided to scuttle the ship and on 23 March 2006, in a joint RAAF and RAN military exercise, the Pong Su was sunk by two 2000-pound (907 kg) laser guided bombs dropped from RAAF F-111 aircraft.[7][8] The deliberate destruction of the freighter was said to deliver a strong message to international drug smuggling rings that the AFP and Commonwealth Government would take all measures necessary to stop illegal drug importation.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Pong Su crew to sue", ABC News, 2004-03-05. 
  2. ^ "Pong Su crew face questioning", The Age, 2004-04-09. 
  3. ^ "Pong Su crew members deported", The Age, 2004-08-03. 
  4. ^ "Drug ship officers set free", News.com.au, March 06, 2006. 
  5. ^ Hills, Ben. "That pong in the bay is from a ship under a cloud", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2004-11-07. Retrieved on 2007-04-16. 
  6. ^ "Stink ahoy over Pong Su", Private Sydney, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2006-03-03. Retrieved on 2007-04-16. 
  7. ^ AAP. "Korean freighter Pong Su to be scuttled", 2006-03-21. Retrieved on 2007-04-16. 
  8. ^ "Drug freighter meets spectacular end", The Sydney Morning Herald, March 23, 2006. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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