Standen was found guilty of conspiracy to import and supplying a criminal group with 300 kg of pseudoephedrine, worth more than $120 million. Pseudoephedrine is used to manufacture illegal drugs such as methamphetamine. Standen was also convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice.
Throughout the trial Standen maintained his innocence, denying the charges he conspired with drug trafficker turned informant James Kinch and food wholesaler Bakhos "Bill" Jalalaty to import the drug between 2006 and 2008, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Standen faces life imprisonment for the charges and he remains under investigation for corruption as investigators revisit all of the cases he took part in while serving on the commission.
The judge presiding over Standen’s case has set the sentencing hearing for September 1st.
The NSW Crime Commission was created in 1985 to fight organized crime, however there was no oversight committee for the Commission until after Standen was arrested in 2008.
ABC reports the five month trial that began this March has raised some question of corruption in the state police force and may even implicate the Australian federal police.
As a result of Standen’s case, and official inquiry by the Australian federal government will look into the members and structure of the Crime Commission to determine if the corruption extends any further into the organization. The inquiry will also decide whether to limit the terms of Crime Commissioners to prevent corruption.
NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher stated that the state will hold its own independent inquiry into the Crime Commission and work to implement oversight procedures.
Gallacher said "the Crime Commission will continue to operate, it will continue to focus resources towards organized crime and it will continue to have the backing of the NSW government,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
