Torsten Posted August 17, 2012 Today we got raided by 12 police officers and 4 drug detection dogs and Koda Phytorium [our Byron Bay shop] got raided by 6 officers and 1 drug dog. What did they get? A bag of empty capsules that seemed to be their main target. Just one bag of maybe 2,000 capsules of the 800,000 capsules we have on the two premises. Apparently because we sell those capsules openly in our shop for anyone to buy we must be involved in an MDMA manufacturing ring. Makes sense, right? What a waste of my time and taxpayer's money! This apparently had nothing to do with the Ch7 news item the other day, as they were not at all interested in the plants and knew that what we do with them is entirely legal. The search was entirely focussed on capsules and labware and any illegal drugs that might have been in my personal possession. ie the majority of time was spent in the private residence with the rest in the business parts, which takes up several multples of space compared to the private space. we now know drug dogs go nuts over Money, Leonotis sibiricus, Passiflora incarnata, theanine, prednisone, high quality saffron [but not the cheap stuff], Hoodia chips, Lophophora seeds, some unknown succulent powder [which *may* have been a small amount of cactus put aside for analysis, but the label had fallen off] and coca leaves. The latter I was not aware I had here as it was left by a visitor, but for some reason it was also the only item the cops did not ask me to identify. It was ridiculously small quantities anyway. so yeah, how exciting was your day? No SAB sales records were taken and in general there was no interest in that side of things. Most of the time was spent arguing whether an item is legal or not and why its really none of their business. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted August 17, 2012 Wow, that sucks man. Hope the intrution was minimal ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
at0m Posted August 17, 2012 That's incredibly shitty T I wonder what they really wanted? That sounds like an incredibly wishy-washy reason for a raid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qualia Posted August 17, 2012 This apparently had nothing to do with the Ch7 news item the other day really? seems suspiciously coincidental to me. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
space cadet swami Posted August 17, 2012 really? seems suspiciously coincidental to me. totally agree quals...very suspect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted August 17, 2012 I thought the Ch7 beatup made mention of labware. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted August 17, 2012 If they do that too often you may be able to get out a harassment charge? Was it the Feds again? Interesting lists of plants the dogs like though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 17, 2012 Because I had nothing to worry about I could spend all my time observing them. I asked a few questions about the reasons and was told they could not tell me, but with the sheer volume of stuff they had to deal with it became very obvious what they were focussing on. And then a couple of times some officers slipped up and gave away enough for me to piece together what it was all about. There was no attempt to entrap me in regards to the plants [like they repeatedly did a few years ago] and there was no interest in the live plants at all actually, other than some bored chit chat about the Ch7 piece. This warrant was about mdma and anything associated with it, performed by a taskforce that deals with mdma in NNSW. Their big focus was a particular type of empty capsule that is quite unique in australia and that is sold at koda in bulk bags. we had heard about people at splendour getting busted with these capsules full of mdma The rest of it was pretty much just trying to get some sort of bust to justify their operation because it became obvious they weren't going to get what they came for. In the scheme of things I think the cops probably didn't appreciate the ch7 story because if I was really involved in something illegal then a national media report is a pretty good reasons to clean up for a while and hence a raid would be unlikely to net anything. But even if they did come because of the CH7 thing then the visit was pointless because they got nothing, did not intimidate me, or made any difference at all. whitewind, this time it was local area command of a special drugs task force. no idea if they had state drug squad members there cos to be honest most of them weren't worth talking to - so i didn't. I only talked to the 4 cops that were polite to me. Definitely no feds though ... I asked. This is what those teams did this morning before visiting us: LINK Two men charged as police break alleged drug ring operating on the state's North Coast - Operation Eldorado Friday, 17 August 2012 04:19:33 PM Two men have been charged in relation to an alleged drug ring operating on the state’s far north coast. Operation Eldorado, comprising officers from Richmond Local Area Command’s Drug Unit, was formed in March this year to investigate the supply of methylamphetamine (MDMA) in the Ballina area. Following extensive investigations, officers arrested a 32-year-old Ballina man and a 35 year-old Byron Bay man about 11.15am today (Friday 17 August 2012). Following the arrests, detectives from Richmond and Tweed/Byron Local Area Commands conducted search warrants at houses in Ballina, Byron Bay and Mullumbimby. During the search warrants, officers located and seized cash, capsules believed to be ecstasy, cannabis, drug paraphernalia and mobile phones. The 32-year-old man was taken to Ballina Police Station. He was charged with the ongoing supply large commercial quantity of prohibited drug and supply large commercial quantity of prohibited drug. The 35-year-old man was taken to Byron Bay Police Station. He was charged with supply large commercial quantity of prohibited drug. Both men were refused bail and are due to appear in Lismore Local Court tomorrow (Saturday 18 August 2012). Richmond Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Greg Moore, said today’s arrests are the culmination of months of hard work by police. “Operations of this nature disrupt the major of supply of drugs in the area. They are also useful in removing key players involved in drug rings,” Detective Inspector Moore said. “There is still more work to be done and I expect further arrests to be made. “I hope today’s arrests sends a message to those involved in the supply of prohibited drugs that we will not give up the fight and will continue to work hard to identify anyone involved. “The community can play a big role in crime fighting and I would urge anyone with any information about crimes in the area to come forward and contact police. “That small piece of information might just lead to something bigger and help us make the streets safer for everyone,” Det Insp Moore said. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anodyne Posted August 17, 2012 This warrant was about mdma and anything associated with it, performed by a taskforce that deals with mdma in NNSW. Their big focus was a particular type of empty capsule that is quite unique in australia and that is sold at koda in bulk bags. we had heard about people at splendour getting busted with these capsules full of mdma That seems like a weak reason for a warrant. Sorry to hear that you had such an interesting day - sometimes this kinda thing makes you appreciate boring days. Hope you get some peace and quiet after this! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wameron36 Posted August 17, 2012 Glad it hasn't disturbed you too much. I've been enjoying your reaction to both this and the ch7 news thing! Makes you laugh at them both 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qualia Posted August 17, 2012 methylamphetamine (MDMA) sounds like NSW police knows whats up, good job boice! 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solomon Posted August 17, 2012 Sorry to hear you got fucked around T. Sounds like you had nothing to worry about anyway, plus you learned some cool things about police dogs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 17, 2012 They certainly did disturb us quite badly. The dogs jump all over everything [including beds, clean clothes and even food], knocked a few fragile things over, and the handler then stepped on them. At one point I stopped the search to lodge a complaint [including a threat to withdraw my cooperation] and things went MUCH better after that. The dogs just get so excited when they work so most of the damage is done by their wagging tail and them climbing up on everything. So there will be a couple of days of laundry to do. It also wasted a full day for me and 4 staff, who I still have to pay because it is not their fault. It could have been a lot worse. They could have opened up all my bags of extracts for testing or even seized them, but I warned them right from the start that if they do that they'll end up paying for them as I won't be able to take them back or use them. They also realised we keep meticulous paperwork for our labware and that I know the law rather well, so the initially threatened search for our labware stocks and paperwork never eventuated. when they got to my lab they just gave up. I warned them that I can't take responsibility if the dog or any officer gets poisoned or hurt in there. Oh, and they woke me and got me out of bed - it was 11.30 though ;) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glimpse Posted August 17, 2012 if this is (and I hope its not!!) the start of shitstorm for you why dont you talk to some producers-maybe even the great guys at channel7 and maybe look into making a SAB reality tv show, there would be heaps of action and plenty of comic relief thanks to the NNSW popo's and lots of delicious cactus porn...cant fail i reckon. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goldtop Posted August 17, 2012 Oh, and they woke me and got me out of bed ;) Those bastards! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 17, 2012 eatingsand - well, they've made reality TV shows about everything else, so why not. ahh that's right, cos I hate commercial media 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ErraneousHerbalist Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) Christ's sake. I hope you're okay T; it seems as though you had nothing to hide anyway. Truly, is quite messed up and I wish you best of luck. How was my day you ask? Er.. well not as exciting as yours, I drank too much tulsi tea and kept going back and forth between work and the bathroom. Edit: I hope that nice lady from Koda is okay, when I visited Koda she was nothing but a pleasure. Edited August 17, 2012 by ErraneousHerbalist Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 17, 2012 Our lovely Koda staff felt intimidated by the intrusion and the careless dog handlers, but handled it just like I would have expected her to. We have amazingly competent and smart people working for us who we have full confidence in. We did shut the shop and give her the rest of the afternoon off though as the whole process is very intense and really alters your perception for the rest of the day. It's now 8 hours since they left my place and I am only just starting to be able to mentally focus properly again, so I would not expect my staff to have to deal with sales after such an ordeal. These raids are a lot of people to keep an eye on and a lot of stuff to process in such a short time, because [just like media] you never know if they are asking certain questions so they can entrap you or somehow create a situation that is manufactured. While our SAB staff are all briefed on the processes and risks of working here, we never felt the need to do this with koda because everything is so clear cut in terms of legality there. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halcyon Daze Posted August 17, 2012 Wow! And I thought i'd been violated when I was searched for drugs for no apparent reason last night. They just pulled me over, told me to get out and searched me and my vehicle. Not a pleasant experience, especially when all they have to do is magically find something and Bang, you're finished... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 17, 2012 Halycon, the good thing about full scale raids is that they have two special officers present at all times. One who has a camera on the search activity at all times, which would make it much more difficult to plant evidence especially with so many unconnected other officers around [the smaller the team the more likely the corruption]. The other officer is called the 'independent officer'. I nearly pissed myself laughing at that term which they did not appreciate the irony of. But anyway, apparently since the wood royal commission into the NSW police, all raids need to have such an officer present. It is his responsibility to deal with on site complaints and with disputes. I had a chat to him about his independence and he said that the reason the system works well is because he is solely responsible for making sure that there are no inconsistencies. eg if drugs are found and the camera wasn't on then it's his ass on the line. While I can see situations where his role would fail or could possibly be compromised, for the most part I think it really covers a lot of the honesty and trust issues. he also very quickly responded to my complaint about the careless nature of the dog handler and things improved dramatically immediately after, so he obviously has some sway. In a vehicle you are at the mercy of the most fucked up powertrippers. Got pulled over once on the way home from Nmbin mardi gras and they found 5K in cash in my car. I was immediately treated like a criminal and it took half an hour to be on my way again. Today they found a lot more because daniel had collected some cash to pay his renovators over the weekend and while they got really excited at first, when i explained why we had it they lost interest. The traffic pricks are the worst. I'd rather be 2h in a drug raid than 30 mins with traffic cop. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woof woof woof Posted August 17, 2012 drug dogs http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/279411-What-drugs-can-dogs-actually-smell Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chnt Posted August 17, 2012 yay for police resources, taxes, lawful injustices, invasions of privacy and oppression in general! i feel safer already 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted August 17, 2012 Are you sure its not related to the News Segment? Maybe they wanted to tickle you a little bit and see if they can find something they can use against you? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted August 17, 2012 [On the positive side, they identified your high-quality saffron as being better than the cheap stuff? :D But I am sad to hear that this has happened, but at the same time it's fantastic that they simply wasted their time. I just hope that you aren't too stressed and haven't been too fazed by these ordeals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
