Abibadra & Ors v The Queen

The applicants, Abibadra and others, appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales against their convictions for various offences, including conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs and conspiracy to possess a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs. The Crown opposed the appeals.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the trial judge erred in admitting certain evidence, specifically intercepted communications, on the basis that it was obtained unlawfully. The applicants argued that the interception warrants were invalid because they were not properly authorised by the Attorney-General or a senior executive officer as required by the relevant legislation. This, they contended, rendered the intercepted communications inadmissible under section 138 of the *Evidence Act 1995* (NSW).

Bell J, in dismissing the appeals, found that the interception warrants were validly issued. His Honour reasoned that the evidence established that the authorisations for the warrants were made by individuals who held the requisite authority under the *Listening Devices Act 1984* (NSW) and the *Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979* (Cth). Consequently, the intercepted communications were lawfully obtained and therefore admissible. The Court concluded that there was no error in the admission of this evidence and that the convictions were safe.