A joint crime operation has uncovered some of the purest cocaine ever found in Queensland, allegedly brought into the state by Romanian organised crime figures.
Twenty-two suspects were targeted this morning in a series of raids involving the Crime and Misconduct Commission, the Queensland Police Service, the Australian Federal Police and Australian Customs. Western Australia Police were also involved throughout the operation.
Search warrants were executed simultaneously on 18 properties on the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Ipswich and Logan.
Currently officers are interviewing a number of suspects allegedly involved in trafficking significant quantities of cocaine between Melbourne and Brisbane. The CMC anticipates numerous charges relating to drug trafficking will be laid later today.
A West Australian resident has also been arrested and charged with serious drug offences in relation to the operation.
CMC Operation Sabre began in February last year after the CMC’s Strategic Intelligence Unit gathered and analysed significant information in relation to an individual suspected of drug trafficking.
Various investigative methods used by the partner law enforcement agencies uncovered a sophisticated drug network with established links to Romania, Western Australia and Victoria.
The CMC’s Director of Crime Operations, Acting Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Doyle, says today’s raids follow the closure two weeks ago of another two drug syndicates allegedly involving the Nomads motorcycle gang trafficking amphetamines into Queensland.
‘While the production and use of illegal amphetamines is still a major threat in this state, the demand for cocaine seems to be on the rise.
‘Recent events and our own intelligence indicate that demand for cocaine is increasing along Queensland’s eastern seaboard, particularly in tourist centres.
‘The cocaine discovered during this 12-month operation was uncut and tested at 84 per cent purity which is the purest cocaine to be found in Queensland,’ Acting Detective Chief Superintendent Doyle said.
‘Romanian criminals have traditionally been involved in the Queensland heroin market. They now appear to be moving from this illicit drug to cocaine seemingly in search of bigger profits.’
‘As a result of five crime agencies working together, we have disrupted the entry of this harmful drug into the Queensland market. The CMC will continue to work with interstate and national law enforcement agencies to ensure criminal networks are targeted and dismantled.
‘The success of this operation highlights the benefits of law enforcement agencies working in collaborative partnerships dismantling criminal networks and achieving excellent outcomes,’ the Queensland Police Service’s Detective Superintendent Brian Wilkins from State Crime Operations Command said.
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