And now, to a story that seems to me to be one of the more reprehensible that even A Current Affair has produced in a while: what it called a 'major investigation', nearly twenty minutes long, that was not only an inflammatory beat-up, but peddled the agenda of big tobacco, with only the barest acknowledgement.

First, here's British American Tobacco's Australian boss David Crow weighing into the government's proposed plain packaging legislation last month.

David Crow: In fact in our view this bill will backfire on the government, and lead to more people smoking... — ABC News 24, 17th May, 2011

Huh? How?

Well, according to a study by consulting firm Deloitte, funded by the big three tobacco companies, 16% of the current market is illicit: unbranded, untaxed tobacco - so called 'chop-chop' - and counterfeit branded cigarettes.

Read Deloitte's report

And if BAT can't differentiate its products by branding, it argues...

David Crow: We will be forced to lower price over the short to mid-term to compete with the illegal tobacco market.... It's driven by crime syndicates, it's driven by the triads, it's driven by the underbelly of the smuggling world... — ABC News 24, 17th May, 2011

And it's bound to get worse, said Mr Crow. It's a line that's been treated with scepticism by his opponents...

Todd Harper: He's been reading too many John Grisham novels, there's no evidence to support that... — ABC News 24, 17th May, 2011

But A Current Affair obviously reckoned there was a good yarn in tobacco smuggling from Asia.

So it sent reporter Nick Etchells to Singapore where, he says, he stumbled onto a much bigger story...People-smuggling of a kind we've not heard of before in Australia.

Nick Etchells: We're talking about one of the world's most feared crime syndicates smuggling people not in leaky boats to the north of Australia, but rather in shipping containers into the very hearts of some of our biggest cities. This from a man who's risking his own life just talking to us. Smuggling people, to you they're just goods? 'Angel': To me it's all the same, just like goods. — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

Though he was codenamed 'Angel', Nick Etchells said the man that he interviewed in a Singapore hotel was 'pure evil'. A 'Mr Big', we were told, from the Malaysian triads.

But A Current Affair produced no evidence whatsoever to support the man's sensational claim that the triads have been smuggling illegal immigrants by the hundred in shipping containers into Australian ports.

Customs and Border Protection has told Media Watch flatly...

There is currently no evidence or intelligence that people are being smuggled to Australia inside shipping containers, as claimed on A Current Affair — Customs and Border Protection, 10th June, 2011

Read Customs and Border Protection's response to Media Watch's questions

Nick Etchells went looking for confirmation from Pamela Curr of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne. He didn't get it. She's told Media Watch...

I said to him, 'someone's having a lend of you.' It's just not happening. ... In all of my years working with refugees and asylum seekers, I have never known anyone to have arrived via shipping container. — Pamela Curr, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, 9th June, 2011

Ah, but it has happened, reported Etchells. His story detailed one occasion, in 1999, when authorities found 69 stowaways hidden on a ship - though not in a container - off the New South Wales coast. And Etchells went on...

Nick Etchells: But during this investigation A Current Affair has discovered that Australian authorities are not above covering these incidents up. Richard Janeczko: Look I'm aware that some years ago there were people that were found deceased in containers that came into Australia. — Channel Nine, A Current Affair 7th June, 2011

Richard Janeczko is a retired customs officer, put forward by A Current Affair as a knowledgeable expert.

Richard Janeczko: I think the one that I'm talking about came from Africa and it came into Western Australia. Nick Etchells: And people were found dead? Richard Janeczko: That's right? Nick Etchells: Why haven't we heard of it? — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

Probably because you haven't looked, Nick. The incident also happened in 1999, and wasn't covered up by anyone.

Body likely to be stowaway. A decomposing body found in a sealed shipping container at Largs North yesterday is believed to be that of a Tanzanian man. — The Advertiser, 2nd November, 1999

Read The Advertiser article

A one-off incident. One man, in one container, landed in Fremantle and then shipped by rail to Adelaide. A sad story that had nothing whatever to do with organised people-smuggling.

We asked Richard Janeczko if this was the incident he was referring to on A Current Affair

Yes I think so. It was a long time ago so I'm not sure on the details. — Richard Janeczko, 8th June, 2011

As for ACA's story about a major people-smuggling operation from Asia, Mr Janeczko had this to say to Media Watch...

I don't think it's viable. I would be surprised, and so would a lot of other people, if there was an organised smuggling operation into Australia via container. — Richard Janeczko, 8th June, 2011

So who, exactly, is 'Angel', and how did Nick Etchells discover him. Well, he told us that in the story...

Nick Etchells: British American Tobacco investigators offered to put us in touch with an Asian crime figure who from time to time provides them with information in exchange for money. He wasn't paid for our interview but, much like our Australian gangland figures, seemed to very much enjoy the opportunity to gloat. — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

So Angel is a paid informer for British American Tobacco. And he dutifully fed Nick Etchells the BAT line about the wicked triads...

Nick Etchells: According to Angel it's their well-oiled tobacco and drug smuggling programs that provide the template for people smuggling, and lately Australia has become big business. Tobacco smuggling into Australia, is it getting bigger as an industry? 'Angel': If the price of cigarettes now keep on going up obviously the business is getting better. — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

And next thing we know, we're in Hong Kong, where, Nick Etchells tells us...

Nick Etchells: Posing as an Australian criminal I've got a meeting arranged with an illegal tobacco trader named Howard. — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

Arranged by whom? Etchells didn't tell his viewers.

We asked BAT if it had arranged the meeting with the mysterious Howard.

It confirmed it had worked closely with ACA on the story, but referred us to the program for details.

We asked ACA, without result.

Nick Etchells: The deal is, two containers of counterfeit Winfield Blues How close to that can you get? 'Howard': 100% — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

But we'd be very surprised indeed if this meeting, 'secretly' filmed from multiple angles, wasn't set up by BAT like the one with Angel.

Listen to this.

Nick Etchells: Next year when plain packaging comes in the box will be even easier to counterfeit... — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

BAT's message - plain packaging will lead to increased tobacco smuggling - kindly relayed by A Current Affair. Never mind that according to the Deloitte report, counterfeit brand name cigarettes represent only 4% of the illegal tobacco trade.

While BAT's role in ACA's story remains shadowy, Australian Customs gets a shellacking from Nick Etchells. He accuses them of refusing to respond to his people-smuggling revelations...

Nick Etchells: I've counted somewhere in the vicinity of 40 press releases Customs has put out so far this year on their achievements. On these allegations though they've flatly refused to get involved. — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

'Angel' alleges that the triads have corrupted customs officers in the ports...

'Angel': We contact the Australian Customs that we have a relationship with, so once they are contacted they facilitate to release the people. — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

And Tracy Grimshaw made this statement at the end of the segment...

Given the serious nature of the allegations being made here, last month we invited customs to look at our tapes, initially they declined, today we heard from them again. — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

Customs and Border Protection gave Media Watch a very different version of events.

Between 17 May and 7 June 2011, Customs and Border Protection made several requests to A Current Affair to provide detailed information on the allegations ... A Current Affair provided Customs and Border Protection with their vision on Wednesday 8 June 2011, the day after the program went to air. — Customs and Border Protection, 10th June, 2011

Customs also asked ACA if they'd paid any of their sources, in money or kind...

Tracy Grimshaw: The answer to that is 'no' — Channel Nine, A Current Affair, 7th June, 2011

When we asked BAT if it had paid any of the sources, it told us to ask ACA. We did. So far, we've had no response at all.

Read BAT's reponse to Media Watch's questions

I think we need a new name for sensational stories, devoid of any evidence except for the claims of shadowy people who are the paid informers of tobacco companies. Maybe we should call them 'BAT-ups'. Spelt B-A-T.

That's it for this week. Responses to our questions, as always, will be posted in full on our website later tonight.

Until next week, goodnight.