Chaser crew charged over no-go zone stunt
AN embarrassing and potentially dangerous breach of APEC security culminated in the charging of eleven crew members and drivers of the TV comedy show The Chaser.
Ten men - including comedians Chas Licciardello and Julian Morrow - and one woman were last night charged under newly legislated APEC laws with entering a restricted area without justification.
The eight crew and three drivers were in a fake convoy purporting to be carrying the Canadian Prime Minister and ushered through two checkpoints in Sydney's APEC restricted security zone yesterday.
They eventually stopped just 10m from the InterContinental Hotel where US President George W. Bush is staying but only after Licciardello jumped from a black limousine dressed as al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden.
All 11 were arrested at the scene with police forced to drive the three cars and two motorbikes in the convoy away. All were last night granted bail to face Downing Centre Local Court on October 4.
Head of the APEC investigation squad, Detective Superintendent Ken McKay last night defended charging the Chaser team.
"While it appears it was a prank, the current APEC security environment isn't the place to do it in," Det Supt McKay said.
"Who they are is irrelevant, they were charged like anyone else who breaks the law."
The stunt exposed an embarrassing and potentially dangerous flaw in the $250 million security measures put in place to protect 21 world leaders, many of whom will converge on Sydney today for the start of the APEC summit.
Officers involved in the APEC security operation revealed last night that police manning CBD roadblocks are frequently not told whether motorcades coming toward them are legitimate.
"We're amazed at the lack of communication that allowed this to happen but how are they to know whether a motorcade is legitimate when they're not supposed to stop them and nothing is broadcast over the (police) radio," an officer said.
A NSW Police spokesman last night denied a lack of communications led to the security blunder and said adequate communication systems were in place.
A source inside The Chaser's War on Everything revealed the team never expected to get so far. The skit had been approved by ABC lawyers but was written in the assumption they would be stopped at the first checkpoint.
Instead they were waved through the first on Macquarie St, then a second, which had sniffer dogs, and eventually stopped themselves at Bridge St.
"As they did Chas got out of a car dressed as Osama bin Laden and said something like 'I'm an important world leader why don't I have a seat at the APEC table?'. Apparently that was the first time the police realised it was not authentic and they swooped in and arrested everybody," the source said
AAP