AustLit

'Captain Kroeger, a visiting American drug enforcement officer and Sergeant White travel to Canberra to follow up on a drug related murder. Kroeger's assignment in Australia is to find out how drugs coming into the country are being re-shipped into the US. The victim turns out to be Paul Goodman, a young man from Melbourne. He lived with his sister Carol who last saw him six days before.

'Kroeger sees a big time American drug pusher in the streets of Canberra. Although he gets away Police are able to establish that he is travelling under the name Grieg and that he has gone to Melbourne.

'Kroeger has information about a suspicious shipment of olive oil that is being held by customs. He arranges for the consignment to be released unopened. Police put the premises where the shipment is due to be delivered under surveillance. At the same time Detective Kelly poses as a health inspector at a seafood processing company where they have reason to suspect the drugs are being repackaged and sent on to North America.

'They capture a young man, Nick Pappas placing the drugs in cartons. He agrees to help police set up Grieg. They capture Grieg with drugs in his possession as he receives a phone call from Nick telling him the relevant crate numbers. Kroeger is convinced that the gun that they find in his possession will match ballistically with the bullet found in Goodman.'

Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).

Note: The character called 'Grieg' here is called 'Griggs' in the character notes.

The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):

'ROBERT P. KROEGER. An American, about mid-forties to early fifties, full of drive, determination and action.

'DET. SGT. KEN DAVIDSON. About mid-thirties, very much the Australian detective who likes working at the easy pace his relatively small organisation requires. Car driving required.

'FRANKLIN GRIGGS. An American, probably about the same age as Kroeger. A drug pusher most of his life, he's learnt to ride rough-shod over lower order crims like the Rossis. Car driving required.

'JOE ROSSI. A migrant in his late thirties or early forties who has settled into the usual rut of newcomers from Southern Europe. Easy going, he has no ambitions but dislikes being pushed around.

'TONY ROSSI. Joe's older brother who has ambitions of acquiring quick, easy cash and feels crawling to the "big boys" is the way to achieve it.

'FR. O'NEIL. A young priest, third generation Australian.

'CAROL GOODMAN. A nice young kid in her late teens.

'JOHNNY BRENNAN. One of the local kids, early twenties, tends a little towards being shifty but would do anything for a mate.

'PAUL GOODMAN. Carol's elder brother about the same age as Johnny. Even at this early age drugs have beaten him. He has a beard, mainly for easy recognition. Car driving required.

'GREG/DAVE: Young lads, about twenty, members of the local crowd of kids.

'ACTUALS.

'A.C.T. POLICE.

'A.C.T. WATER POLICE.

'A.C.T. MOTORBIKE POLICEMAN.

'U.S. MARINES.

'WORKERS IN SEAFOODS PROCESSING WORKS.'