LAWYER ARRESTED IN $6M COCAINE RAID

One of Australia's most prominent criminal lawyers was arrested
yesterday as part of an international investigation into a major
cocaine syndicate.

Police seized about eight kilograms of high-quality cocaine in a
Melbourne raid and arrested four people, including well-known
solicitor Mr Andrew R. Fraser.

Mr Fraser, 48, was arrested when armed police raided his St Kilda West
house about 3am. He was charged with importing and trafficking a
prohibited drug.

He appeared before bail justice Mr Robert Taylor at the Melbourne
Custody Centre yesterday afternoon and was bailed with a $10,000
surety to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court at 10am this
morning.

Another man and a woman were arrested in an Elwood flat and a woman
was arrested in a St Kilda flat during coordinated raids. The cocaine
was discovered during the Elwood raid. The man, 52, and the two women,
35, were charged with importing a prohibited drug. They were bailed to
appear at the Melbourne Magistrate's Court today.

The arrests and seizure were part of a joint Victoria Police drug
squad/Federal Police and Customs investigation, codenamed Regent.

It is believed the investigation has been operating for at least two
months. Police believe the cocaine, valued at around $6million on the
street, was smuggled into Sydney last week and moved to Melbourne
about three days ago.

The drugs were monitored by police before they moved in to make the
arrests yesterday. Forensic experts will conduct tests to establish
its purity.

The seizure is one of the biggest cocaine hauls recovered in
Victoria.

United States law enforcement intelligence sources have predicted
Australia could be a growth market for cocaine. Use of the drug in the
US and Europe has plateaued, but South American production continues
to increase.

Local police say the crackdown on locally manufactured amphetamines
could also lead to an expanded cocaine market.

Mr Andrew Fraser is one of Victoria's best known criminal lawyers. He
has represented the Perth millionaire Alan Bond, gunman and drug
dealer Dennis Bruce Allen, footballer and convicted drug dealer Jimmy
Krakouer, and defended one of the four men charged over the murder of
two police in Walsh Street.

During the Walsh Street investigation he was secretly taped by police
in a cell talking to his client, Anthony Farrell, urging him not to
cooperate with police.

Formerly a partner in a Melbourne legal firm, he started his own city
practice in November last year.