03
02
04
In the 30 years since the Turkish Consulate bombing, technology has moved from magnifying glasses to Microsoft but the case shows thorough police work is still the best resource of all.
“Looking back we certainly turned every stone,” he said. Colleague Detective Senior Sergeant Neil White hadn’t been a detective long when he volunteered to analyse and search hundreds of exhibits from the scene. Hotel details and bus tickets he found in a wallet proved a turning point in the investigation and helped narrow down Levonian as the likely bomber. “There were a lot of hours, a lot of tedious work and a lot of travel,” Det Sen Sgt White said. “It was bit by bit by bit and we made sure every t was crossed and i dotted.” He travelled numerous times to Canberra and Sydney to search properties related to Levonian and his accomplice Levon Demirian,
who was later convicted of Levonian’s murder, and spent weeks establishing and confirming the chain of events. Police even considered travelling to Ireland to have the world’s only dog-hair expert confirm a hair found on Levonian’s clothing matched a dog belonging to the former owner of the car used in the bombing, but thanks to Sgt Pangrazio and Det Sen Sgt White’s leg-work the case was already water tight. As revenge for the genocide of Armenian people by the Turkish during World War I, the pair had intended for the bomb to go off when consulate staff were at work. But as the sophisticated mercury tilt-timer bomb was unknowingly positioned on an angle in the car, it detonated as soon as Levonian set it.
“If it had gone to plan, it could have been horrendous,” Det Sen Sgt White said. “There was a tram stop nearby where kids used to line up to get to school.” Det Sen Sgt White said while there was now a greater understanding of radicalisation and more intelligence and technology to intercept potential threats, comprehensive police work would never be superseded.
Images Operation Caroline 01 Items recovered from bombing victim Hapog Levonian’s wallet. 02 The car used in the bombing. 03 A police exhibit from the Supreme Court case against Levon Demirian. 04 Hapog Levonian from surveillance footage. Editorial: Anthea Cannon POLICE LIFE | SUMMER 2017
31