Vunilagi v The Queen

The applicant, Vunilagi, appealed to the Supreme Court of Queensland against his conviction for the offence of unlawful possession of a dangerous drug. The dispute centred on whether the evidence obtained by police during a search of the applicant's vehicle was admissible.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the police had reasonable suspicion to stop and search the applicant's vehicle under section 29 of the *Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000* (Qld). This required the Court to consider the nature and sufficiency of the information available to the police officer at the time of the search to form a reasonable suspicion that the vehicle contained dangerous drugs.

Gleeson J found that the information available to the police officer, which included intelligence from a confidential informant and observations made by the officer, did not establish a reasonable suspicion that the vehicle contained dangerous drugs. The informant's information was not sufficiently detailed or corroborated to justify the suspicion. Consequently, the search was unlawful, and the evidence obtained as a result was inadmissible. The Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and entered a verdict of acquittal.