Commander Amanda Kates is the State Manager for Victoria and Tasmania of the Australian Federal Police. After service in the Royal Australian Navy, she joined the AFP in the 90's. She has served in many areas including specialist roles in national crime investigations and protection liaison. The AFP has either a presence in, or has strong ties within, regions such as North and South America, Asia, South-East Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East as well as places closer to home such as PNG, the Solomon Islands and New Zealand. Some of the work that the AFP gets involved in includes: Airport security. Child protection. Counterfeit currency. Cyber crime. Drug crime - cocaine is flooding the Australian market because criminals can make 5 times as much here compared to other countries. Fighting terrorism - the AFP works closely with the state police on terrorism. For example, they had been working with VicPol to monitor a potential terrorist attack in Melbourne. This led to the arrest of 3 men several days ago. Fraud. Human trafficking - the AFP works hard to stop slavery, sexual servitude and child sex tourism. People smuggling - there are still hundreds of people trying to illegally reach Australia via boats. They are being stopped in Indonesia but Amanda fears that, if there is a change of government or policy, the boats will return to our shores. Proceeds of crime - After a long investigation, they recently conducted a drug raid which led to the arrest of several dealers and the confiscation of assets such as 2 Lamborghini's, 3 houses, various firearms and $8.5 million in cash. Peacekeeping - Amanda has been to Timor Leste and Sudan on peacekeeping missions. Close personal protection such as bodyguards for visiting royalty and many international dignitaries. Witness protection.
During 2017/18, the AFP was successful in: Confiscating $80 million in criminal assets. Reducing harm to Australians by assisting with successful transnational crime investigations to the value of $5.7 billion. Charging 58 people as a result of child protection investigations. Seizing over 17 tonnes of illicit drugs. Achieving a 98% court conviction rate.
120 officers were assigned to provide security for the recent APEC conference in PNG. In addition to their international role, the AFP also provides community policing in the ACT. Some of the most notable international investigations that AFP officers have been involved in include:
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