The Chaser APEC Pranks - Breach of APEC Restricted Zone

Breach of APEC Restricted Zone

On 6 September 2007, eight members of the team (including five runners dressed as bodyguards) and three hired chauffeurs manned a fake Canadian motorcade consisting of two motorcycles, two black four-wheel drive vehicles, and a black sedan. The group—including Chas Licciardello dressed as Osama bin Laden, and Julian Morrow—drove the motorcade through the Sydney central business district and breached the APEC security zone. The premise of the stunt was that bin Laden should have been invited to the summit as a world leader, to discuss the War on Terror, with another motive being to test the event's security. The stunt was approved by ABC lawyers under the assumption that the motorcade would be stopped at the first security checkpoint and denied entry.

In the following episode of The Chaser's War on Everything, the team emphasised that their only realistic attempt to disguise the vehicles was the use of a Canadian flag. Taylor later said that there was "no particular reason we chose Canada, we just thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinise too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade—as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with him". There were many deliberate indications that the motorcade was not genuine, particularly on the fake credentials used by the team; members' security passes were printed with JOKE, Insecurity, and It's pretty obvious this isn't a real pass all clearly visible, while the APEC 2007 Official Vehicle stickers included both the name of the series and the text This dude likes trees and poetry and certain types of carnivorous plants excite him. In addition, some of the runners were holding camcorders and one of the motorcyclists was wearing jeans, both highly unusual for an official motorcade.

At 11.30 am (AEDT), the motorcade began its journey towards the "ring of steel", a fenced area at the intersection of Bent and Macquarie Streets. The vehicles stopped for a red light and the police became aware of the motorcade's presence, but waved them towards the checkpoint. The convoy travelled through the first checkpoint without inspection and proceeded north to a second security checkpoint in the prohibited "red zone", just before Bridge Street. Both motorcyclists had by now separated from the motorcade, which was waved through the second checkpoint by police officers. It travelled further into the restricted area before stopping outside the InterContinental Hotel, where US President George W. Bush was staying.

Morrow ordered the motorcade to turn around at the Bridge Street intersection because he realised that they had proceeded further than expected, and because the police officers were not going to stop them. After partially turning the motorcade, Licciardello alighted onto the street and complained, in character as bin Laden, about not being invited to the APEC Summit. At this point, the police requested Morrow's identity. After inspecting his fake pass, officers realised that Morrow was from The Chaser and took all eleven members of the motorcade into custody. Surprisingly, as pointed out by the team on their television show, the officers initially ignored Licciardello (Osama Bin Laden) and only arrested Morrow.

The arrested cast and crew were immediately taken to Surry Hills Police Station, where they were questioned and charged with entering a prohibited area under the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007. All were released on bail to appear in court on 4 October 2007. Under the new legislation, the crew members would each face a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment if they were convicted or up to two years if they were in possession of a "prohibited item".