Operation Morocco Disbanded
December 7, 2000 ·
Australian Federal Police have closed Operation Morocco, their only child sex tourism investigation unit, the Attorney-General, Mr. Williams, has confirmed. He defended the move, saying the AFP, which believes there is no need for a separate unit, can set its own priorities according to operational requirements. (Sydney Morning Herald 8/11/00).
Operation Morocco was the only specialist unit actively investigating child sex tourism and has been responsible for a significant number of prosecutions under the child sex tourism law. It is claimed over 200 Australian child sex offenders were being monitored and five were being investigated, including a sex crime killing of a child in East Timor, when the unit was disbanded. The Federal Government has said the child sex tourism investigations will be integrated into other units as required. Opposition Justice spokesman, Duncan Kerr, claims police are angry at the closure and disturbed by the lack of priority given to child-sex issues.
