In a new Daily Mail podcast, The Trial Australia, Paul Cale, a former special operations soldier dubbed ‘the killer commando’, offers advice on bringing to an end the manhunt for Dezi Freeman – the largest tactical operation in Australian police history.
Freeman, 56, has been on the run for over three weeks after allegedly gunning down two officers and fleeing into dense Australian bushland.
The fugitive, who styled himself as a ‘sovereign citizen’, is an experienced bushman who police believe may have pre-positioned supply caches to survive in the harsh terrain.
On the morning of August 26, police attended Freeman’s remote Porepunkah property in Victoria’s alpine region to execute a search warrant related to alleged historical sex offences.
Freeman (pictured), 56, has been on the run for over three weeks after allegedly gunning down two officers and fleeing into dense Australian bushland
Paul Cale (pictured), a former special operations soldier dubbed ‘the killer commando’, offers advice on bringing to an end the manhunt for Dezi Freeman
Freeman, who was living in a bus, is thought to be carrying multiple firearms including a homemade shotgun, rifle, and a police weapon taken after the deadly ambush.
‘It is very hard to find someone who’s spent a lot of time in a particular area’, Cale, a former special operations officer told The Trial Australia’s Wayne Flower.
‘If Freeman has that prepping mindset, he could have done a lot of set-up and hides. Hides are locations where it’s hard to observe him.
‘He might have access to food, ammunition and more weapons, things like that.
‘Then again, he might have committed suicide and that’s also troubling because you’re not going to get that confirmation. Is he still alive and at large, or is he down the bottom of a cave somewhere?
‘He is on his own. He could have fallen and injured himself. All the environmental factors that affect people when they go bushwalking and get lost come into play here.
‘It’s a very tough one for police… you’re looking for a needle in a haystack.’
Cale is a founding member of the Second Commando Regiment, an elite branch of the Australian Defence Force – akin to Britain’s SAS.
He earned the name ‘killer commando’ in Afghanistan, where he tracked down a Taliban leader and strangled him to death.
A difficult terrain expert, Australia’s ‘toughest soldier’ told the podcast how he would go about apprehending Freeman.
He said: ‘You would start doing particular search processes, confining the area that you believe them to be in. Then start to break that down.
‘The problem is the sheer land mass of the Bush. You need numbers to search that area effectively.
‘You may think you have searched an area – but you could have simply gone right past him.
‘You’re totally relying on the outer cordon to stop him from escaping that search process.
Paul Cale: ‘You would start doing particular search processes, confining the area that you believe them to be in. Then start to break that down.’ Listen now
Paul Cale: ‘The problem is the sheer land mass of the Bush. You need numbers to search that area effectively.’ Listen now
Paul Cale: ‘I don’t think Freeman (pictured) would have made this decision without forethought – he’s thought this through in his mind… that’s why it’s so difficult to find him.’ Listen now
A difficult terrain expert, Australia’s ‘toughest soldier’ told the podcast how he would go about apprehending Freeman
‘I don’t think Freeman would have made this decision without forethought – he’s thought this through in his mind… that’s why it’s so difficult to find him.’
Crime reporter Flower told his guest that he expects the fugitive will be ‘loathed to come in and face a judge.’
Cale agreed, saying he envisages a ‘bad outcome’ to the hunt for Freeman.
‘The end of this will not be good’, the ex-commando said.
‘I feel for the families of those police officers. Turning up, doing your job – it’s a terrible thing.
‘If anyone that is hearing this is talking to him, all I can say is, surrender. The best thing for him to do is to just surrender and come out.
‘Face the music and have this whole thing come to an end.’
Freeman was last seen wearing dark green tracksuit pants, a matching rain jacket, brown Blundstone boots and reading glasses.
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