Tracking devices, drones and a poisoned dog: CFMEU probe told of intimidation

A security professional hired to protect a CFMEU-targeted worksite found a tracking device attached to his car and believes his dog was poisoned by baited meat dropped from a drone in a campaign of intimidation by the union, a commission of inquiry heard on Tuesday.

Concentric Concepts managing director Grant Killen was providing security services to construction firm BMD at the Centenary Bridge worksite when, he told the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU and Misconduct in the Construction Industry, he became the target of a sustained campaign of harassment.

After attending the site on May 17, 2024, Killen said he sensed he was being followed during his drive back to his company headquarters near the Port of Brisbane.

Upon arrival, Killen said he immediately placed his car on a hoist, lifted it, and found a tracking device attached beneath the chassis.

“Once I found the device, I immediately put the vehicle on the ground as quick as I could. Then I left the facility,” he said.

“Then I gave the admin staff at the office a call and directed them to pack up and close up for the day and go home.”

Killen said he sped away from the site to put distance between the device and his staff.

“I left the device on the vehicle mainly because I knew the device had a particular anti-removal device on there, an anti-tilt switch,” he said.

“As soon as it gets removed, the people who put it on there, who have the software for that, would immediately be notified.”

Suspecting he was being followed by someone in a Toyota RAV4, Killen said he engaged in some “aggressive driving”, including deliberately running a red light to check if he was being followed.

“Further down the road, we did an aggressive U-turn [to] see if it would keep up, and it did follow.”

Killen eventually lost his tail, he said, and removed the device by the side of a road.

But he said the intimidation did not stop there, instead spreading to his family home.

There were drive-bys in his cul-de-sac, and Killen said he managed a brief look at one of the drivers, who he identified as former police detective Mick Featherstone, whom the inquiry heard the CFMEU had engaged to collect intelligence on BMD personnel.