Record numbers for crime night

More than 350 people braved the cold to attend Blue Ribbon Foundation’s annual Inside Story crime night at Horsham’s Church of Christ last week.

The record crowd helped raise an incredible $14,000 for the foundation which will channel the funds into life-saving equipment for Grampians Health’s Horsham campus. Top Victorian detectives Inspector Nick Allwood and Senior Sergeant Barry Gray gave deep insights into high profile crimes of which they were leading the investigations.

Insp Allwood told his story of former award-winning Queensland firefighter Luke McNally who became a body builder, developed a drug addiction and started a booming supplements business. 

After McNally was convicted in Queensland, he moved to Victoria and started cooking meth while running a highly sophisticated drug operation.

Sen Sgt Gray told of how he led the investigation into the murder of 28yo gangland figure Mohammed Haddara in 2009. The case took 10 years to get the right conviction due to a conniving lawyer and the power of the two Middle Eastern crime families involved. Ali Chaouk was found guilty of the murder in 2018.

Blue Ribbon Foundation’s Horsham branch president Paul Margetts thanked the detectives on the night for giving up their free time to support the event. He also thanked MC Emma Clarke, his hard-working Blue Ribbon Foundation committee and Grampians Health’s Horsham catering team for providing an impressive supper.

Mr Margetts said he was overwhelmed by the attendance.

“We had set a new record at last year’s event, and we’ve had 80 more people attend this year and we really appreciate their support to such an important cause,” Mr Margetts said.

“We changed venues this year and just in time because it would have been difficult to fit everyone in at our previous location. The Church of Christ provided the perfect auditorium to accommodate everyone and all the technical needs as well.

“We are about to pay for our share of the Sonosite ultrasound we are buying for the hospital in a joint project with Wimmera Health Care Group Foundation and we are ready for a new project to fund.”

Grampians Health CEO Dale Fraser who once again attended the Inside Story event thanked the Horsham branch for their ongoing support.

“Our Emergency Department at Horsham is achieving impressive results in recent times and that is thanks to the hard-working team led by Dr Peter Carter and Rebecca Bolzon but also very much due to the new state-of-the-art, life-saving equipment that Horsham’s community groups are continuously helping to fund,” Mr Fraser said.

“We want to continue to strengthen the partnerships we have with these community organisations and support them in any way we can.”