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Surfer
in hot water says police won't give him a break, Les
Kennedy -
24th March 2004
(Credit:
The Sydney Morning Herald)
xKoby Abberton, a professional surfer woken by loud
banging on his door, thought a mate had come round
to get him out of bed to catch an early wave.
Instead,
he was confronted by nine investigators from the State
Crime Commission with search warrants and an assets-seizure
notice, which froze his bank accounts and prevented
the sale of three properties and two cars.
The
raid at 7am yesterday on Abberton's Maroubra home
convinced him that police are trying to destroy his
livelihood as one of the world's prominent big-wave
"free" surfers.
The
25-year-old, a stalwart of the Maroubra Beach surfers'
clique known as the Bra Boys, was this month charged
with accessory after the fact to murder. His elder
brother Jai has been charged with murder.
The
alleged victim was one of the founding members of
the Bra Boys, Anthony Hines, 37, a standover man and
rapist. His body - with bullet wounds to the head
and hands - was dumped off a Maroubra cliff last August.
Koby
Abberton was also charged with perverting the course
of justice, hindering a police investigation and concealing
a serious offence. He is free on bail and still surfing
- but says a police campaign is putting his career
at risk.
He
estimates his income from sponsorships, photo shoots
and surfing videos at $300,000 a year.
Abberton
says police are out to destroy not only him but the
group that takes its name from the "bra"
in Maroubra.
Since
he was charged on March 8, he says, police have been
around him constantly - even on Saturday, when he
beat the six-time world champion Kelly Slater in a
heat at the inaugural Australian Open at Maroubra.
"There were five uniformed police standing around
me," Abberton said. "I can't walk into a
coffee shop without detectives sitting down nearby
watching and listening."
Last
week two detectives called at his home, where he cares
for his 78-year-old grandmother and 13-year-old brother.
Almost every day the week before, he says, different
police would arrive just to drop off their card.
"It's
just police harassment, that is all it is. I think
it's getting to the stage where it has to stop,"
said Abberton, whose devotion to the Bra Boys is shown
by a large tattoo on his back, featuring the Southern
Cross with the words "Bra Boys" in the top
star.
He
said his passport and records and boarding passes
of past trips were seized in the raid. If he wanted
to travel overseas for work, he had to give police
three days' notice.
Links:
Media
websites
The
Sydney Morning Herald
Articles
Deep
Trouble - Koby Abberton Rides A Different Kind Of
Barrel
Into
the jaws of a monster
The
other side of extreme
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