A series of police raids in Queensland and South Australia have shut down an organised crime network allegedly involved in the large scale production and trafficking of cannabis into Queensland.
Seven suspects were targeted this morning and earlier this week as part of a joint crime operation involving the Crime and Misconduct Commission, South Australia Police and the Queensland Police Service.
In Queensland, search warrants were executed on three properties near Ipswich, Redcliffe and Taigum on Brisbane’s north side on Wednesday while in South Australia at least 16 properties including at Murray Bridge, southeast of Adelaide, were raided today.
In Queensland, almost 39 pounds of cannabis with a street value of over $450 000 and over $169 000 in cash were also found. South Australia Police seized cannabis plants, drug paraphernalia (including 14,000 ‘ice’ pipes), $4500 in cash and other illegal substances.
So far, eight men have been arrested and charged with a range of offences including drug trafficking and possession of a dangerous drug:
- a 39 year old man from Murray Bridge, SA
- a 39 year old man of Rothwell, Qld
- a 59 year old man of Brightview, Qld
- a 28 year old man of Scarborough, Qld
- a 37 year old man of Kippa-Ring, Qld
- a 38 year old man of Taigum, Qld
- a 47 year male of Pooraka, SA
- a 49 year old male of Oakden, SA.
The raids signal the closure of Operation Cygnus which began as a joint investigation in September this year and has involved the close monitoring of several members allegedly part of a sophisticated drug network.
The crime syndicate allegedly collected hydroponically grown cannabis from a ‘cooperative’ of producers in South Australia.
The drug was then packaged in cryovac sealed plastic bags, hidden in a modified fuel tank in a four-wheel drive vehicle and smuggled into Queensland on a regular basis.
The CMC’s Director of Crime Operations, Detective Chief Superintendent Len Potts, says partnerships between interstate and national crime agencies are essential to dismantle criminal networks and disrupt the trafficking of dangerous drugs.
‘As criminal networks become more sophisticated, law enforcement agencies are increasingly reliant on these partnerships to put a stop to complex organised crime,’ Detective Chief Superintendent Potts said.
‘These criminals are driven by greed and are always looking for opportunities to make money. While demand for cannabis remains high, these networks will look at sophisticated ways of supplying the market.’
‘We estimate that during the six week joint investigation, this particular criminal network moved about 120 pounds of cannabis, so our seizure of 39 pounds yesterday will severely hamper the supply.’
Det Inspector Peter Giles, Acting O/C SAPOL Drug Investigation Branch, said ‘Both law enforcement jurisdictions are happy to have removed this amount of illegal drugs from the communities.’
A media conference with photo/video opportunities of the seized drugs and vehicles will be held at 11.30 am at the Yamanto Police Station, 300-320 Warwick Road, Yamanto.
ENDS
