Duncan McNab

An undercover agent who infiltrated the Bandidos outlaw biker gang and later became the first Australian citizen to be declared a refugee from his own country has launched legal action against Canada.

As a registered agent for the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), Stevan Utah was working deep inside the Bandidos to try to determine the nature and extent of the group’s criminal activities.

Ultimately, he became the catalyst for changing the way Australia perceived the outlaw bikers.

But his work came at a great personal cost, causing him to flee his home country for Canada, in fear of his life.

An arrest warrant was issued for a 40-year-old Lawton man accused of pulling the trigger in a Deadmans motorcycle club initiation ritual that killed a man

Utah is now suing the Canadian government for failing to process his refugee application in a timely manner – leaving him in limbo for years, unable to access health care or earn a living.

Undercover perils

High on the list of most perilous jobs on the planet is being an undercover agent inside an outlaw motorcycle gang like the Bandidos.

The group’s motto is “We are the people your parents warned you about”.

It’s unlikely most Australian parents had a clue about the magnitude of the danger.

The 1990s biker wars in Quebec and Europe – which included beatings, bombings and even an attack on a crowded building with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher – killed more than 170 people.

Innocent bystanders – including 11-year-old Daniel Desrochers, who was pedalling home on his bike – were among the dead.

Rival gangs fought the battles over drug-trafficking turf.

It was all about their twin passions of power and greed. Public safety was irrelevant.

The wars received little coverage in Australia.

Outlaw justice

Utah was deep undercover inside the group – until they tried to kill him.

The outlaws are notable for summary justice if they get a whiff of an informant in their ranks.

They’re not believers in courts or due process, and suspicion is enough for a comprehensive beating or a shallow grave.

In 2006, Utah was embedded in the Bandidos in South East Queensland, feeding eye-opening intelligence back to his ACC handlers.

‘It shouldn’t have been this hard, but there you go.’

Luck finally smiled on him when nearby good Samaritans took him to hospital with black eyes, a damaged mouth and battered face.

His handlers, on hearing of the attack, did little. Utah was cast adrift.

The bikers put a price on his head and a target on his back.

Nowhere in Australia was safe.

Safe and welcoming – for some

Utah arrived in Canada on June 15, 2006, and made a claim for refugee protection.

Just over a year later, he handed over his Australian passport to comply with Canadian law.

A Southern California man who made it his mission to track down the hit-and-run driver who killed his wife to an 85-year-old suspect

An application to the Canadian Border Services Agency for refugee protection followed.

Because Canada usually deals swiftly with refugee cases, Utah thought the process would be swift.

He was wrong.

Jaivet Ealom, who escaped from detention on Manus Island and eventually ended up in Canada on an allegedly fake passport, reportedly had an expedited refugee hearing and refugee status after a 40-minute interview.

Utah’s case took more than a decade.

First refugee from Australia

After hard-fought hearings, in which I gave evidence, along with current and former police officers from both Australia and Canada, Utah was finally granted refugee status on September 29, 2017.

He is likely the first Australian to be granted refugee status after fleeing his homeland.