Thursday September 6, 08:08 PM
Chaser team charged over fake motorcade
Eleven crew from the ABC comedy show The Chaser have been charged and granted bail following their arrest in Sydney after they staged a fake motorcade.
Julian Morrow and Chas Licciardello, two of the stars of the satirical TV program The Chaser's War on Everything, were among the 11 detained by police in a convoy of three cars and two motorbikes.
The fake motorcade had been staged as part of an APEC week stunt.
The 10 men and one woman were charged under newly legislated APEC laws with entering a restricted area without justification.
The crew members were in the convoy which was reportedly ushered through two checkpoints in Sydney's APEC restricted security zone.
The convoy was pulled over in Macquarie Street in a block adjacent to the InterContinental Hotel, where US President George W Bush is a guest during the APEC summit.
All 11 were granted bail to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on October 4.
Head of the APEC Investigation Squad, Detective Superintendent Ken McKay said The Chaser team was not entitled to any preferential treatment by police.
"While it appears it was a prank, the current APEC security environment isn't the place to do it in," he said.
"Who they are is irrelevant, they were charged like anyone else who breaks the law."
In a statement police listed those charged as people ranging in age from 25 to 47 from Sydney addresses.
It said they were arrested by APEC Investigation Squad detectives under laws that restrict anyone from entering declared zones during APEC.
