Police Media Release Digest

[apothecary]

Please note this is not a comprehensive roundup, just a collection of the ones I found to be interesting

======================================

NSW:

Detectives charge man with firearm and drug offences – Panania

13 November 2006

A man is due to face a Sydney court this morning after detectives from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOCS) allegedly seized seven firearms during a raid on a home on the weekend.

About 2.30pm on Saturday (11 November 2006), a 53-year-old man was arrested in Panania by Tactical Operation Unit officers and was taken to Bankstown Police Station where he was questioned by MEOCS detectives.

The man was charged with multiple firearms and drug supply offences.

He appeared in Parramatta Bail Court yesterday morning and was remanded into custody to appear in Central Local Court today.

During the execution of a search warrant at the home in Lawler Street, Panania, detectives will allege they seized seven firearms including semi-automatic handguns and rifles, as well as a large quantity of ammunition and magazines.

Detectives also allegedly seized 1.6kg of amphetamine tablets worth an estimated potential street value of $100,000.

The weekend operation was carried out by detectives attached to Strike Force Maybrook which was established last month to investigate the possession and supply of firearms and prohibited drugs.

Man Charged With Drug Offences – Erskine Park

13 November 2006

A man is due to appear in court after being charged over drug offences at Erskine Park yesterday.

In July 2006 police from Wetherill Park Target Action Group (TAG) commenced Operation Nanette to investigate the alleged ongoing supply of drugs in south-western Sydney.

About 12pm yesterday police arrested a 24-year-old man who they will allege possessed about 3,000 MDMA tablets worth an estimated street value of $42,000.

The man was taken to Mt Druitt Police Station and charged with supplying a large commercial quantity and supply drugs on an ongoing basis.

He was refused bail and is due to appear at Penrith Local Court today.

Cannabis cookies, chocolates seized – Nimbin

6 November 2006

Nimbin Police have charged a woman with multiple drug offences after cannabis, cookies and chocolate were seized during a search yesterday.

Police were in a business in Cullen Street about 1pm, investigating reports of break and enters on shops in the area, when they allegedly witnessed a drug transaction in the store.

Officers searched the premises and seized multiple bags of cannabis leaf as well as almost 2kg of cannabis cookies and 89 foil-wrapped chocolates, allegedly made from cannabis butter, weighing more than 1.3kg. Police also seized a sum of cash.

A 51-year-old woman from Jiggi was arrested at the scene and taken to Nimbin Police Station where she was charged with three counts of supply a prohibited drug, two counts of possess a prohibited drug, as well as one count of goods in custody.

She was granted conditional bail and is due to appear in Lismore Local Court on 4 December.

SA:

Drugs and Sports cars seized in raids

Adelaide Police yesterday raided three eastern suburbs homes arresting three men and seizing drugs and property including two ‘Ferrari’ Sports cars.

At about 6.30 pm on Tuesday 14th November 2006, more than 20 uniform and plain clothes Police officers made simultaneous raids on three houses at Hallett Road Wattle Park, St Bernards Road Magill and The Parade Magill.

Police seized a total of 4kgs of dried cannabis, 7 cannabis plants, 38 grams of cocaine and about $4,000 cash.

Police from the Confiscations Section attended the address at The Parade at Magill and seized four vehicles including:

1993 Ferrari 348T, 2000 Ferrari 360 Modena, 2005 Toyota Hilux 4WD, 2005 Holden Astra Convertible. The total value of the assets seized is about $500,000.

Police from the Confiscation Section have also placed Restraining Orders on three houses totalling valued at over $1.5 million.

Three men aged 28 and 38 from Magill and 42 year man from Wattle Park were arrested and charged with various drug related offences including possessing a drug of dependence for supply, unlawful possession and take part in the production of cannabis. They have been bailed to appear Adelaide Magistrates Court on 2 February 2007

Interim Drug Driver Test Results

Assistant Commissioner Grant Stevens has released interim results of the driver drug testing trial that

commenced on July 1st 2006

“Up to midnight 12th November 2006, we have tested 3424 drivers.”

“Of these , 1.8 percent , or 63 drivers, have been confirmed by forensic analysis as positive for drug driving,

producing these results:

o 34 tested positive to Methamphetamine

o 2 tested positive to MDMA

o 13 tested positive to THC

o 14 tested positive to a combination of drugs.”

“We have another 21 roadside tests still awaiting forensic analysis.”

Assistant Commissioner Stevens said the drug driver testing team has also detected 46 positive alcohol random

breath tests. No drivers have tested positive for both alcohol and drugs.

“Although we are not yet half way through the 12 month drug driver testing trial, we are producing results that

indicate drug use is occurring amongst some drivers. We consider driver drug testing to be clearly in the

interes ts of road safety, and we want drivers to know that if they use illicit drugs, or exceed the pca, they are

likely to be detected .”

WA:

Beechboro Cannabis Seized

Organised Crime Squad Detectives with assistance from the Canine Drug Detection Unit have

seized cannabis, a gun and ammunition at a Beechboro residence on Wednesday.

Police executed a search warrant at the Hope Street house and allegedly located more than two

kilograms of cannabis, smoking paraphernalia, a stolen motorcycle, an unlicensed revolver and

over 300 rounds of ammunition.

Detectives arrested and charged a 64 year old man with possess cannabis with intent to

sell/supply and possess unlicensed firearm and ammunition and a 38 year old woman

with possess cannabis with intent to sell/supply.

Both occupants of the Hope Street residence were bailed to appear in the Midland Magistrate’s

Court on 14 November 2006.

Coolbellup Drugs Seized

Fremantle Investigations officers have charged two of three men with drug-related offences

following a pro-active campaign to reduce burglary and drug crimes in the South Metropolitan

District.

The officers and Fremantle Detectives executed a search warrant at a house in Coolbellup and

allegedly seized 63 clip seal bags containing amphetamine, cannabis, a smoking implement,

numerous items of stolen property and thousands of dollars cash.

Police had the Hargreaves Road residence under surveillance and observed a number of

vehicles and people coming and going for short periods.

A 44 year old Coolbellup man has been charged with possess amphetamine with intent to

sell/supply, sell/supply amphetamine, possess cannabis, possess smoking implement and

receiving.

He will appear in the Fremantle Magistrate’s Court on 26 October 2006.

A 33 year old South Lake man was summonsed for possess cannabis and a 22 year old

Beaconsfield man with a breach bail undertaking.

Ends release.

Ian Hasleby

Media Liaison Officer

Police Media

24 October 2006

Midland Hydroponic Cannabis Seized

Police have swooped on a residence in Midland and seized cannabis plants, dried material and

two hydroponic growing units inside the house and a back yard shed.

The East Metropolitan Tactical Investigation Group officers acting on a search warrant at

7.30am Friday (3 November) located hydroponic apparatus in a bedroom containing 30

cannabis plants in varying stages of growth.

Also hidden in the house were four clip seal bags with pre-packaged cannabis, a quantity of

loose cannabis and an amount of money.

On examining a locked rear shed, the officers uncovered another hydroponic set-up with eight

large cannabis plants close to maturity along with plant bases and waste cannabis material.

TIG officers have charged the 52 year old woman occupant with two counts sold a prohibited

drug, two counts cultivate cannabis with intent sell/supply, two counts possess cannabis with

intent sell/supply and permit premises to be used for misuse of drugs act offences.

She has been bailed to appear in the Midland Magistrate’s Court on 7 November 2006.

[MORG]

Surprising. I would've bet THC would have been higher than amphetamines.

And only 2 MDMA...

Maybe they were targeting hard-drugs and missed all the stoners.

“Up to midnight 12th November 2006, we have tested 3424 drivers.”

“Of these , 1.8 percent , or 63 drivers, have been confirmed by forensic analysis as positive for drug driving,

producing these results:

o 34 tested positive to Methamphetamine

o 2 tested positive to MDMA

o 13 tested positive to THC

o 14 tested positive to a combination of drugs.”

[apothecary]

Detectives also allegedly seized 1.6kg of amphetamine tablets worth an estimated potential street value of $100,000.

Torsten do you reckon that's meth?

[AndyAmine.]

Yeah, I would say they are Meth, I would think they were Yabba tabs from asia where they are common in the illicit trade, they often come over with ICE shipments...

Apparently they flavour them over in S.E Asia/Thailand, Ive heard of strawberry, grape and orange but not in Australia.

[Μορφέας]

Anyone know what kind of tactics they use to sniff out cannabis growers?

[apothecary]

I would say 95% of all grow busts are tipoffs.

[apothecary]

Sorry no WA, VIC, SA reports included as the websites were extremely slow today and I couldn't be bothered waiting.

========================================

NSW:

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTgxNTU%3D

Police raid Central Coast, Sydney homes

1 December 2006

Police have this morning executed search warrants on six homes on the Central Coast and Sydney suburbs.

Brisbane Water Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Darren Bennett, said the raids were the culmination of a six-month covert operation targeting the commercial supply of heroin in the

Woy Woy peninsula.

Search warrants were executed on homes in Umina Beach and East Gosford, as well as two homes in the Sydney suburbs of Yennora and Busby.

More than 60 police, from the Gosford Drug Unit, Wetherill Park TAG, Gosford Local Area Command, and the Dog Unit were involved in the operation.

Investigators are now speaking with a number of people.

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTgxNDg%3D

Five people arrested as police smash Asian drug ring Sydney's south-west

30 November 2006

Three women and two men, alleged to be members of an organised Asian drug crime syndicate, have been arrested in dawn raids across Sydney’s south west today.

Detectives from Botany Local Area Command and teams of officers from the South West Metropolitan Region simultaneously raided six homes just after 6am.

They allegedly located hundreds of hydroponic cannabis plants and dried cannabis with an estimated street value of more than a million dollars.

More than 60 officers took part in the operation, codenamed ‘Glenayre’, targeting homes in Queen Street, Ashfield; Mount Street, Bonnyrigg Heights; Robert Street, Belmore; Ogmore Street, Bankstown; DeMeyrick Street, Casula; and Whitford Road, Green Valley.

Three of the hyrdo houses were located in the same streets as primary and high schools. Police believe this may have been a deliberate attempt by the syndicate to disguise their activities, including heavy traffic flows to and from those properties.

It follows a six-week investigation focussing on the group, which is suspected of involvement in the large-scale production and cultivation of hydroponic cannabis.

Almost 400 cannabis plants were allegedly seized at the Ashfield, Casula, Bonnyrigg and Green Valley properties.

At the Bonnyrigg Heights residence, police arrested a 34-year-old man and 25-year-old woman after allegedly uncovering cannabis plants worth $150,000 and dried cannabis valued at $250,000, which is believed to have been due for sale on Sydney’s drug market within days.

An eight-month-old baby and three-year-old girl located at the scene were placed by police in the care of relatives.

Acting South West Metropolitan Region Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Plotecki, said the setups inside most of the homes indicated a sophisticated criminal enterprise.

“Some of these homes were uninhabited and had been acquired by the crime group purely for the purpose of growing hydro crops,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Plotecki said.

“The syndicate went to extreme lengths to avoid detection; however, good investigative work has resulted in today’s arrests.

“Police have uncovered and dismantled yet another Asian crime group involved in growing hydro cannabis, using a system that was first seen by authorities in Canada,” he said.

At the Casula residence, a 56-year-old Vietnamese woman - believed to be an illegal immigrant – was arrested.

A 28-year-old man was arrested at the Ashfield address, while a 29-year-old woman was taken into police custody at the Green Valley residence.

Those arrested have been taken to Bankstown, Liverpool, Green Valley and Ashfield police stations for questioning. It’s expected they will be charged later today.

It’s the second large drug bust by NSW Police this week.

On Monday (27 November), officers attached to Strike Force Arrowsmith arrested and charged 15 people in relation to the alleged sale and distribution of firearms and drugs – including heroin, ice and cannabis - in Sydney’s west and regional New South Wales.

A sixteenth person was arrested and charged in relation to that operation on Tuesday.

“NSW Police will continue to hunt down and put behind bars anyone involved in the illegal drug trade,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Plotecki said.

and a link to the charges:

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTgxNTA%3D

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTgxMzg%3D

Drugs charges - near Mullumbimby

29 November 2006

A man will appear at court tomorrow on numerous drugs charges following police raids on the state’s north coast over the past two days.

Following an investigation by detectives from Tweed/Byron Local Area Command, police went to a rural property at Goonengerry about 8pm yesterday.

At the house they arrested a 31-year-old man by virtue of drug-related first instance warrant issued by West Australian Police in 2001.

This morning, police searched the property and located a quantity of drugs including amphetamine and cocaine.

At this stage, the man has been charged with supply prohibited drug (cocaine), possession of prohibited drugs and goods in custody.

He’ll appear at Lismore Local Court tomorrow.

Investigations into the drug seizure continues and further charges might be laid.

QLD:

http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Aler...hern+Region.htm

Drug squad operation closure, Far Northern Region

Operation Echo Nuclear conducted by the Far Northern Region Drug Squad since July 2006 was closed yesterday resulting in the arrest of seven persons.

Four of these people have been charged with trafficking in amphetamines and ecstasy. Three others have been charged with possession of drug charges. Police expect to prefer further charges in relation to the primary four offenders today.

It is alleged that a 20-year-old Cairns man was the principle of the trafficking syndicate involving a 19-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man also from Cairns and a 25-year-old man from Machans Beach.

During searches conducted as part of Operation Echo Nuclear Cairns detectives seized upwards of half a kilogram of amphetamines and approximately 3000 ecstasy tablets.

Police will allege that $117,000 in cash and a bank cheque worth $80,000 as well as five motor vehicles are the proceeds of drug trafficking or tainted property.

Laboratory glassware and chemicals were seized during the operation. Police will allege these were to be used in the production of methyl amphetamines.

Officer in Charge of the Far Northern Regional Drug Squad Detective Senior Sergeant Mick Dowie said, “These seizures and arrests will have a significant impact on the availability of these high risk dangerous drugs in the Cairns and surrounding areas.”

The four persons charged with trafficking appeared in the Cairns Magistrates Court today and have been remanded in custody until December 5.

[nabraxas]

“Police have uncovered and dismantled yet another Asian crime group involved in growing hydro cannabis, using a system that was first seen by authorities in Canada,” he said.

anyone know what kind ov system they're talking about?

[Torsten]

apo - yes, this would be meth. There are simply no records of amphetamine analyses in any court papers. The preliminary tests just indicate amphetamine and this is what makes it into the media. If you follow the trial papers and the forensic analyses then there siply aren't any amphetamine busts.

I thought this was interesting:

3,000 MDMA tablets worth an estimated street value of $42,000

Normally street value is calculated at a minimum of $30 per tab, but often as high as $40 or $50 (newpapers often go as high as $80). The street value here is a mere $14 per tab.

[naja naja]

3,000 MDMA tablets worth an estimated street value of $42,000

How they even still call them MDMA with that many other contaminants like meth and special K in them. Cocktail pills is wat I call em. Most these days have hardly any recognizable MDMA anywayz. being just meth pills. I still wouldn't pay $14 for that shit.

Also, any yellow pills carrying the logo MG or GM (can't emember) are shit!!! My mate was given some the other day and said they were crap.

[Torsten]

Most these days have hardly any recognizable MDMA anywayz. being just meth pills.

Forensic and court records do not support this statement. Most pills are still primarily MDMA and many are quite pure.

[naja naja]

Forensic and court records do not support this statement. Most pills are still primarily MDMA and many are quite pure.

Kewl, I find very few forensic analysises from Oz. I'm glad this is the case. Maybe they are just weak or maybe W.A. has diff importers. They got 300Kg of cocaine at freo port the other month, maybe W.A>'s supply comes from a diff country. I saw a bust recently in Oz of 30 000 meth pills with logo's that wouldv'e been passed off as MDMA here in W.A.

In the U.S. most pills seem to be around 50% mdma, 40% meth and 10% Ketamine according to the reports on the DEA website. I guess I just assumed Oz would be the same. Good that it's not though.

One pet peave is the complete lack of passing on any dose info, like " this pill has 100mg of mdma" so u know if u should take two or just have a half. Even just say if it's got meth in the mix, most people won't mind anywayz. Maybe just standardization would be too much to ask for. It seems as though the guinee pig method is just too widely accepted.

[nabraxas]

Naja--- you should checkout

http://www.pillreports.com/index.php?page=...me&region=3

[naja naja]

Naja--- you should checkout

http://www.pillreports.com/index.php?page=...me&region=3

Thats a kewl site, but they are only reagent testing, which shows positive for MDxx. They can't even I.D. between MDA and MDMA. It doesn't proove that they don't have Meth in them, only that they DO contain MDxx of sum description. Both are Amphetamines with a methyl in there too. If a pill is a cocktail, wat would the reagent do? Forensic analysis is the only way to tell and I can't find any from Oz. Many people are charged for selling MDMA, but it doesn't say if they were pure or cocktails.

I just go by diff peoples reactions to sum pills. Sum seem very smaky, others very speedy. I also thought that maybe drug cartels deliberately mix meth in to help get people addicted to a non addictive substance. Or add K cause it's cheaper and divertable from legit sources.

This is what I imagine cartels to be saying "A bitta meth and a bitta special K and lets call it a Pill. People don't really care anyways, they take wat we sell them." When money is priority and not love and joy, wankers will do anything. Look at Americas pill analysises. People even make rip off fakes of legit prescription meds . I hope it doesn't get like that in Oz!

If people rekon they are still pure over east, thats good to hear, but here in W.A. the general concensus is that pills have gone to shit over the last few years.

P.S. Just read through a few reports, alot of shit ones seem to come from W.A. and quite a few seem to have meth in the mix. And alot are just non-active. They did rate the yellow GM's higher than my mate though, but not reagent tested. He said they were just meth pills.

Edited December 7, 2006 by naja naja

[Torsten]

I just go by diff peoples reactions to sum pills. Sum seem very smaky, others very speedy.

By that method at least half of all 'e' pill should have susbtantial amount of smack in them. Until 2003 do you know how many e pills were found to contain heroin [in australia]? Zip! Nada! Null!

Smacky es are either jpure Mdma or mixed with Mdea. Speedy pill are usually mostly MDA.

Sure things have changed a bit and you will find a lot more meth in pills these days, but if you have a look at the seizure numbers you will find that these are rarely busted by customs and rarely in huge numbers. That indicates they are mostly locally made, and they don't have a huge market. Do you know why? Because adding meth to MDMA actually decreases the peak effect and simply extends the stimulant effect. This is because the meth upsets the delicate serotonin adrenaline balance created by MDMA and which together with the dopamine we all enjoy so much. By adding even just 20mg of meth to your pill you might as well not have bothered putting any Mdma into the mix at all. I would think that large scale producers would only make that mistake once as it is an expensive mistake for them.

About the only additive that really helps with MDMA is caffeine. A small amount really speeds up absorption and gives it a kick start. Most other additives are a waste of time.

I don't see MDA as a contaminant. In fact my fave pills used to be those with 2/3MDMA and 1/3 MDA. Perfect balance of trashedness and euphoria without ever needing to sit down :drool:

Mdea is neither here nor there for me. As a minor constituent it makes no difference, but as a major one it can make the pills a bit sedating. Again, I don't see this as a contaminant.

No pill test sites give any indication of there being huge amounts of bad pills around in either Europe, USA or Oz. Many are very low powered at only 70-100mg, but often it's just a matter of you get what you pay for. Caffeine is often present - as it should be. Dimethyl amines are often present due to manufacturing methods. MDA is pretty rare these days. By the time you take out all of the above you will not have many left. These left overs are the ones to avoid. They will include DXM, mcpp, meth, and even ketamine. But these are not the norm.

[naja naja]

When I said smaky, I was refering to the sedating effect, not that they actually had heroin in them. I've never found any reports sayiong that theres been heroine in pills. Maybe the fact that MDA is rare these days is wat people are wanting and the MDMA pills are not doing the job. I don't buy pills and never would based on the fact that dose and content are never certain. If they add meth, jest tell people, if they are only 70mg, maybe print that useful info on the pill on the opposite side of the pic. If they add K, let the consumer know.

The info I looked up was prob biased being on the dea web site, but it was still concerning. This is the prob with drugs being illegal, unknown dose, purity and content. But thats another story.

[apothecary]

The DEA microgram report is usually fairly unbiased when it comes to analysis, I trust it. However, I don't think any reliable correlation could be drawn from what's in the monthly reports and what's on the street (although it can be a useful indicator e.g the recent fentanyl debacle).

I think I'm with T on this one, people will NOT buy whatever they're told to buy. Maybe a few will, but once word spreads that so and sos are shit or even contaminated sales WILL bomb and that's the end of that.

Most of the partygoers I know (I do not include myself in that definition) will pool their money and buy 3-4 pills per person in a 10-15 person group for the weekend. The dropoff from saleable to unsaleable pill is very fast because of this.

[Anodyne]

We consider driver drug testing to be clearly in the

interes ts of road safety, and we want drivers to know that if they use illicit drugs, or exceed the pca, they are

likely to be detected .”

I don't drive, but I still find this a disturbing development. From what I've read, these tests are simple +/- tests - i.e. they just show that you have taken a drug, not that you are actually under the influence, unlike the alcohol tests. And I've found nothing to suggest that any kind of quantitative test follows +ve results. I wonder if the cops allow people to request quantitative tests &/or physiological examination (eg. having pupils, BP, heart-rate, etc. checked by a doc). Obviously they'd still know you'd taken drugs, & could probably search your house & car, but it might get you out of the "drug-driving"/reckless driving/ whatever charge. Then again, I doubt that "road safety" is their main intent - it seems like just another way, like drug-dogs, of avoiding the "reasonable suspicion" requirement for searches. Dodgy, dodgy.

[apothecary]

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTgyMTg%3D

Prohibited drug manufacturing operation shut down - Northern Rivers Region

10 December 2006

Detectives have seized eight pistols, as well as MDMA powder with the potential to produce more than $2.5 million in prohibited drugs, during a raid on a Northern Rivers region property.

On Thursday morning detectives from the State Crime Command’s Drug Squad and Richmond Local Area Command raided the rural property west of Casino.

During a three-day search of the premises, police will allege they located a pill press and other paraphernalia associated with the large-scale manufacture of MDMA.

Detectives also found 6.3kg of pure MDMA powder, which has the potential to produce more than 60,000 tablets worth an estimated street value of $2.5 million.

Drug Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Greig Newbery, said the majority of the items were secreted throughout the premises.

“It is clear this home was set up for the large-scale production of MDMA and has been shut down as a result of inquiries carried out by investigators,” Detective Superintendent Newbery said.

“Due to the property’s proximity to the New South Wales-Queensland border, this seizure has the potential to significantly impact the supply of MDMA in both states.

“The property was unoccupied at the time police executed the search warrant and no arrests have been made at this stage.

“However, the items seized will be undergoing forensic analysis and detectives from the Drug Squad and Richmond Local Area Command are continuing their inquiries in the area,” Detective Superintendent Newbery said.

During the search of the property detectives seized a tablet pressing machine capable of producing 4000 tablets an hour, as well as a small quantity of cannabis and cannabis resin.

A large quantity of glassware, cooking apparatus, pre-cursor chemicals and other items associated with manufacturing prohibited drugs were also located in the house. Eight semi-automatic handguns were also seized.

Detective Superintendent Newbery said an inert training mortar was also discovered in a dam on the property, which was disposed of last night by the Australian Navy Clearance Divers Unit.

Anyone with information about the manufacture, sale or use of prohibited drugs is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information will be treated in the strictest confidence and can be made anonymously.

[apothecary]

LSD tablets eh?

===========================================================

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTg2NzU%3D

Drug arrests – Port Macquarie

12 February 2007

Police have charged four people and seized illegal drugs and cash after swooping on a motel at Port Macquarie. Staff at the motel on Gordon Street called police after noticing some suspicious behaviour by several of their guests about 8.30am yesterday.

Officers arrested three men and a woman at the scene and seized amphetamine, 15 LSD tablets, 80 ecstasy tablets, cannabis and nearly $20,000. Police also seized a Holden Commodore thought to from the proceeds of crime. The woman aged 22 and three men aged 24, 29 and 36 have all been charged with deemed supply of prohibited drugs and goods in custody. They will all appear in Port Macquarie Local Court later today.

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTg2Njc%3D

Three men arrested after cannabis plantation located - Blue Mountains

11 February 2007

Three men will face court today after being charged in connection to a sophisticated cannabis plantation located in the Blue Mountains yesterday.

About 9am, police acted on information and located up to 400 cannabis plants in bushland off the Bells Line Road at Bell.

Later in the day, police arrested three men as they left the site. They were taken to Katoomba Police Station where they interviewed.

A 60-year-old Doonside man and two men from Londonderry, aged 27 and 51, were charged with cultivate a commercial quantity of prohibited drugs.

They were bail refused and will appear in Parramatta Bail Court today.

The plants will be removed from bushland today and have an estimated potential street value of up to $800,000.

http://police.nsw.gov.au/news/all_media?sq...pYUlEPTg2MDA%3D

Seven arrested, drugs seized – South East Asian Crime Squad and Canobolas LAC

1 February 2007

Police have arrested seven people and located cannabis, crystal methylamphetamine (‘ice’), MDMA (‘ecstasy’) and cocaine following a joint investigation into the ongoing supply of drugs in a western NSW town.

Detectives attached to the South East Asian Crime Squad and Canobolas Local Area Command raided four homes in Sydney and Cowra overnight and conducted an operation in Lithgow following a nine-month joint investigation.

They have been investigating the ongoing supply of various drugs within the town of Cowra, with the drugs allegedly being sourced from Sydney.

About 8pm yesterday police executed the first warrant at Sussex Street in the Sydney CBD, arresting three men. Detectives seized an amount of cash as well as cannabis, ice, ecstasy and cocaine.

Inquiries revealed one of the men was in Australia illegally. The other two men, from Sydney, were interviewed at City Central Police Station. One was charged with drug supply and money laundering offences and he was refused bail to face Central Local Court today. The other man was granted conditional bail to appear at court at a later date.

Detectives conducted an operation on the Great Western Highway at Lithgow arresting a man and woman from Cowra and a man and woman from Condell Park at a truck stop about 9.30pm. Police seized an amount of cash as well as ‘ice’.

The four people were taken to Lithgow Police Station for questioning and are continuing to assist detectives with their inquiries.

A search warrant at a house in Macquarie Street, Cowra, about 10pm allegedly uncovered amounts of cannabis, as well as ‘ice’ and ‘ecstasy’. Nobody was home.

Police raiding a house at Augusta Street, Condell Park, about 10pm found a hydroponic cannabis set-up within a garage, seizing more than 100 plants with an estimated potential street value of $200,000.

The final search warrant was executed at Keith Street, Marrickville, about 3.30am today. Police located hydroponic set-ups in a bedroom and shed, seizing about 30 plants with an estimated potential street value of $50,000.

A woman and three children were located at the premises. Police are still at the scene this morning.

All inquiries by South East Asian Crime Squad detectives, under Strike Force Gourlay, and Canobolas Local Area Command detectives, under Operation Berringar, continue.

http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Aler...shine+Coast.htm

Drug raids, Sunshine Coast

Police from the Sunshine Coast executed 50 search warrants last week resulting in 45 people being charged with 130 offences.

Operation Garnet was run over a number of days with the majority of offences being drug related.

Detectives from the Sunshine Coast Tactical Crime Squad, CIB, uniform officers and dog squad searched properties from the coast to the hinterland.

Two people have been charged with trafficking.

Two hydroponics set-ups and one amphetamine laboratory were located and a number of weapons and property offences were detected.

A large amount of cash was seized and a number of laptops located that are alleged to be proceeds of crime.

Those charged will appear in the Maroochydore, Caloundra and Noosa Heads Magistrates Courts over the next few weeks.

Last updated 05/02/2007