After ten years and $318million in taxpayer funds, investigators still don't even know the most BASIC fact about two of Ben Roberts-Smith's alleged victims

By STEPHEN GIBBS, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 14:51, 11 April 2026 | Updated: 14:51, 11 April 2026 Two of the five men Ben Roberts-Smith is accused of murdering while serving with the Special Air Service in Afghanistan have never been identified by war crimes investigators.  Court documents seen by the Daily Mail show one of the Victoria Cross recipient's alleged victims is described only as 'Person Under Control 1', or alternatively 'Enemy Killed in Action 3'. Roberts-Smith is accused of murdering that Afghan male with another SAS soldier dubbed 'Person 68' at Syahchow in Uruzgan Province on October 20, 2012. Another alleged victim who is only known to authorities as 'Person Under Control 2' or 'Enemy Killed in Action 4' was killed on the same day in the same place. Roberts-Smith is accused in a court attendance notice of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring an SAS rookie dubbed 'Person 66' to murder 'Person Under Control 2'. In the context of Australia's war in Afghanistan, a person under control - or PUC (pronounced puck) - generally refers to a fighting-age male taken into custody after a military engagement. Roberts-Smith, 47, was charged on Tuesday with five counts of 'war crime - murder' following a five-year joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI).  His arrest came almost three years after the father-of-two unsuccessfully took defamation action against Nine newspapers, which published a series of reports accusing him of war crimes in 2018.  Two of the five men Ben Roberts-Smith (above) is accused of murdering while serving with the Special Air Service in Afghanistan have never been identified by war crimes investigators Roberts-Smith (left) was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday and charged with five counts of 'war crime - murder'   A legal source close to that civil case confirmed the AFP and the OSI still did not know Person Under Control 1 and Person Under Control 2's names. 'They have never been identified,' the source said.  'All they have are photos of dead male Afghans taken by our guys at the end of a mission. 'They are not crime scene evidence but are now being repurposed in a criminal case.' The source said such photographs were taken to identify individuals killed in action, to assess whether they were high-level targets and to record any weapons that had been located. 'They aren't identified in the sense we use the word,' the source said. 'It's not like they had ID on them.  'I should add the "identification" of these individuals even with a name is sketchy at best.  'It usually involves an Afghan saying, "You killed my relative, pay me money" - which then occurs.' A source close to Roberts-Smith said his arrest was staged to 'inflict maximum distress' on the father-of-two. He is pictured with Queen Elizabeth II The federal government has reportedly allocated $318million over the past decade to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.  Three of Roberts-Smith's alleged victims are named in his court attendance notices, while two other former comrades have been identified as killing detainees but are not charged with any offence. Roberts-Smith is accused of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring Person 4 to kill Mohammed Essa on April 12, 2009 at Kakarak in Uruzgan Province. He is also accused of intentionally causing the death of 'a person identified as Ahmadullah' at Kakarak on the same day.  Mohammed Essa was the father of Ahmadullah, whose prosthetic leg was taken as a trophy after he was killed, and later used as a drinking vessel at the SAS's Tarin Kowt base. Roberts-Smith is further charged with aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring Person 11 to kill Ali Jan at Darwan in Uruzgan Province on September 11, 2012. Ali Jan was the shepherd Nine newspapers claimed Roberts-Smith kicked off a cliff before ordering his execution.  Each of the alleged victims is described in the charge sheets as 'not taking an active part in hostilities' at the time of their death. Roberts-Smith is accused of murdering a man named Ahmadullah whose prosthetic leg was later used by the SAS as a drinking vessel. Roberts-Smith is pictured with the leg Roberts-Smith, who along with his VC earnt a Medal for Gallantry in Afghanistan, has always denied committing war crimes while serving with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). In 2023, the Federal Court's Justice Anthony Besanko found on the balance of probabilities that claims Roberts-Smith was responsible for the murder of four unarmed male civilians were substantially true.  OSI director of investigations Ross Barnett said during a press conference on Tuesday that prosecuting war crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan was 'incredibly complex'. Mr Barnett said the OSI had been investigating 'literally dozens of murders alleged to have been committed in the middle of a warzone, in a country 9,000km from Australia that we can no longer access'. 'So, the challenge for investigators is - because we can't go to that country - we don't have access to the crime scene... ' he said. 'So we don't have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles, blood-spatter analysis, all of those things we'd normally get at a crime scene. 'We don't have access to the deceased - there's no post-mortem, therefore there's no official cause of death, there's no recovery of projectiles to link to weapons that might have been carried by members of the ADF.' A source close to Ben Roberts-Smith previously told the Daily Mail that Australia's most decorated living soldier had repeatedly offered to present himself to police if they were going to charge him. Roberts-Smith, who along with his VC holds a Medal for Gallantry, has always denied committing war crimes. He is pictured in Afghanistan  Instead, he was arrested on Tuesday morning after his Qantas flight from Brisbane touched down at Sydney Airport while he was in the company of his twin 15-year-old daughters and partner Sarah Matulin. A Nine News television camera crew had been waiting at the airport to film Roberts-Smith being taken off the aircraft and escorted to a a four-wheel drive which took him to Mascot police station. 'Mr Roberts-Smith has lived in Queensland since leaving the Special Forces in 2012,' the source said. 'He has never shied away from his accusers, nor sought to avoid scrutiny or place himself beyond the reach of Australian authorities.' The source said Roberts-Smith's legal team had repeatedly told the AFP and OSI he would present himself 'at a time and place of their choosing should any charges be brought'. 'Instead, he was arrested upon arrival in Sydney during a short visit with his children,' the source said. 'In doing so, authorities chose to inflict maximum distress in front of his two young daughters. 'It is particularly concerning that media, including Nine News, appeared to have been notified in advance.' Roberts-Smiths had offered to present himself to police if they were going to charge him with war crimes but was instead arrested in front of his teenage daughters The AFP and OSI commenced 53 investigations involving allegations of war crimes by the ADF in Afghanistan, 39 of which are not being actively pursued, subject to further evidence emerging. Ten investigations into allegations of criminal offences under Australian law related to breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict by ADF personnel are ongoing. One investigation resulted in another former SAS soldier being charged with murder. That case has been listed for trial in February next year. Roberts-Smith faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of any of the murder charges. He is expected to apply for bail next Friday. Until then, Roberts-Smith remains behind bars at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater in Sydney's west.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.