The Australian/NZ Drug Busts Mega-Thread Part I

• Bemoaning a seizure of drugs
• Contemplating whether a seizure will affect availability of a drug in a particular area
• Guessing at how long before police put the drugs back on the street

Police smash Warrnambool drug ring
Reko Rennie
April 19, 2007 - 11:20AM

Police detectives have smashed a drug trafficking ring in the Warrnambool area, seizing ecstasy, amphetamines, cannabis plants, "ice" and cash.

Victoria Police said 13 people have been arrested during 'Operation Rasper', which started in August last year.

Several cars were also seized during nine simultaneous searches in Warrnambool, West Footscray and Port Melbourne.

More than 70 police and members of the Special Operations Group were involved in the raids.

Warrnambool Crime Investigation Unit's Detective Senior Sergeant Tony Coxall said they were happy with the results of this operation, but their fight against drugs in the local area would continue.

"We have dismantled a long running local drug ring. These people have been heavily involved in the distribution of ecstasy and amphetamines in the south-west region," Detective Senior Sergeant Coxall said.

"This operation will lead to a significant reduction in the supply of ecstasy and amphetamines in these areas," he said.

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Police raids smash Perth drug ring
19th April 2007, 13:00 WST

Police claim to have broken up a drug manufacturing ring they allege could have produced $1 million worth of methylamphetamine after raids on a number of homes in Perth and Mandurah yesterday.

Four people were arrested after police and customs investigators swooped on a Barragup home, allegedly discovering a clandestine drug laboratory at the semi-rural property near Mandurah.

As a result of their investigations, police then raided homes in Halls Head, Wembley, Girrawheen and Mandurah, a vehicle and self-storage unit.

During their raids police allegedly seized 450g of the precursor chemical ephedrine - used to manufacture methylamphetamine - $4500 cash, a handgun and a small quantity of cannabis and methylamphetamine.

A police spokesman said the ephedrine seized had the potential to produce approximately 3.6kg of methylamphetamine, which would have a street value of up to $1 million.

A 35-year-old Wembley woman, a 49-year-old Halls Head man, and a 25-year-old man and a 30-year-old man, both from Queensland, have been charged with manufacturing a prohibited drug.

Police are continuing to investigate the drug manufacturing network and expect to charge other people.

The raids came as a result of a long-running operation by Customs relating to intelligence gathered on the illegal importation of precursor chemicals like ephedrine.

Customs national investigations manager Richard Janeczko said this operation had discovered 10 clandestine laboratories, arrested 24 people and seized more than 50kg of precursor chemicals in raids around the country.

The four people caught in yesterday's raids will face Perth Magistrates Court today and face a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment and a $100,000 fine if convicted.

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Kingsgrove raid nets 20kg MDMA - Asian Crime Squad
20 April 2007

Police from the Asian Crime Squad have seized 20 kilograms of MDMA (ecstasy) during a raid on a clandestine drug lab in Sydney’s south.

Officers from Strike Force Whitbeck, formed to investigate the manufacture and supply of illegal drugs, this morning arrested two men aged 32 and 39 in Kingsgrove.

After speaking with the men, officers searched a nearby factory complex on Wirega Avenue.

Inside they allegedly located a sophisticated ecstasy manufacturing operation containing approximately 20kg of a powder believed to be MDMA, 500 ecstasy tablets and a pill press machine.

The MDMA had the potential to make 200,000 ecstasy tablets worth an estimated $4 million.

The 39-year-old man from Manly Vale and the 32-year-old man from Leichhardt have been charged with a number of drug offences, including:

• Possess, manufacture and supply large commercial quantity of MDMA (ecstasy)
• Possession of a pill press

They have been refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Local Court tomorrow morning.

Police also expect to lay charges against a 41-year-old man from Marrickville later today.

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Jimity said:

Sticky?

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Ice pipes seized at Melbourne shops
April 22, 2007 08:43am

MORE than 900 banned pipes, used to smoke or inhale the drug ice, have been found for sale at three Melbourne shops.

The pipes, used with methamphetamine (ice) crystals, were discovered in raids by Consumer Affairs Victoria inspectors.

It wasn't immediately clear when the raids happened.

Consumer Affairs Minister Daniel Andrews said the inspectors confiscated 925 ice pipes from two retailers at Preston Market, in Melbourne's north, and a tobacconist at Springvale, in the southeast.

Mr Andrews said the latest raids brought the total number of ice pipes seized over the past three years to more than 3000.

He said the Victorian Government was targeting the wholesale suppliers of the ice pipes in a bid to stamp out the source of the banned products.

The sale of ice pipes was banned in Victoria in 2004 because they were likely to cause death or serious injury.

Anyone caught selling banned goods face penalties of up to $60,000.

Mr Andrews said the three traders had cooperated with Consumer Affairs Victoria and appropriate enforcement action would be taken against them.

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Drug bandit strikes again
KANE YOUNG
April 23, 2007 12:00am

TASMANIA'S spate of armed robberies continued when the New Town Pharmacy was held up early yesterday.

A man brandishing a pistol entered the pharmacy on Main Rd, New Town just before 9.30am and demanded staff hand over boxes of oxycontin -- a pain relief medication with similar effects to morphine and heroin -- before fleeing the scene.

The serial offender -- who police believe is also responsible for robberies at the Derwent Park Pharmacy on April 14 and 18 -- was seen getting into a white late-model Holden Commodore parked near Maynes Marine and driving towards Hobart.

He is described as being about 172cm tall, of thin build, in his late teens to mid-twenties, with dark eyebrows.

He was wearing a light-coloured hooded top, dark jeans and trainers.

His face was covered with a dark blue scarf pulled up to just under his eyes, and a light-coloured cap pulled down over his eyes.

Det-Insp David Wiss said the offender was "very calm in his demeanour" and did not threaten or use violence towards staff.

"His actual actions have not escalated," he said. "Again he has not used threats or any force, but has been determined simply to get those oxycontin tablets."

Yesterday's hold-up was the latest in a string of armed robberies in Hobart which medical experts have linked to the introduction of tighter controls governing the purchase of over-the-counter medications.

Sandy Bay's Amcal and Chemmart pharmacies were held up within minutes of each other on January 30, with a 23-year-old man arrested soon after.

Two chemists at Lindisfarne were burgled on the same night last month.

And the Derwent Park Pharmacy in Main Rd, Derwent Park, which was robbed twice in four days earlier this month, was also targeted on February 12. Police believe yesterday's offender is responsible for all three incidents.

Det-Insp Wiss said the new armed robbery taskforce announced on Thursday would be "ramped up even further to ensure that we've got every resource directed at apprehending this gentleman as soon as possible".

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Mokbel brother refused bail on drugs charges
April 23, 2007 11:24am

THE brother of fugitive drug baron Tony Mokbel was refused bail when he appeared in a Melbourne court on drug-trafficking charges today.

Horty Mokbel faces five charges, including trafficking a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine.

His lawyer, Stephen Shirrefs SC, told Melbourne Magistrates Court that several factors made his client's case exceptional - including a weak crown case, a lack of relevant prior offences and family ties to the jurisdiction.

But the prosecution said it feared Mr Mokbel could flee the country, just as his brother had.

Magistrate Donna Bakos refused the 43-year-old bail, saying he did not meet the exceptional circumstances threshold required.

Mr Mokbel was charged last week with trafficking a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine, attempt to possess methylamphetamine, traffick a commercial quantity of phenyl 2 propane and dealing with $9205 being the proceeds of crime.

Police allege an amphetamine cook - who has been convicted of drug trafficking - made statements to them that he manufactured amphetamine for Mr Mokbel between May 2005 and April 2006.

Mr Mokbel was ordered to reappear in July.

Tony Mokbel, 41, went missing in March last year. He failed to appear towards the end of his Victorian Supreme Court trial over the importation of 2kg of cocaine.

He was subsequently found guilty of trafficking cocaine and sentenced in absentia to 12 years' jail.

He has also been charged in his absence over the death of a Melbourne crime figure.

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Police, Customs bust $37m drug import
April 23, 2007 12:05pm

AN Israeli national has been charged with trying to import the synthetic drug MDMA, with a street value of $37 million, into Australia inside three hot water tanks.

About 113kg of MDMA powder, usually found in ecstasy, was discovered inside 172 tennis ball cans packed in three of six solar hot water systems in a cargo shipment.

Customs officers at Port Botany spotted the cans during an X-ray last month of the container, sent from Israel.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers substituted the drug with another substance then monitored the cargo's delivery to a warehouse in Artarmon, in Sydney's north.

A 46-year-old man from Bellingen, on the mid-north coast, was arrested yesterday, police and customs said.

Police raided the warehouse, a property in Marrickville, in Sydney's inner-west, a car in the inner-city and a Melbourne house, where officers seized $25,000 in cash.

The man was charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drug, namely MDMA and one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

He is due in Coffs Harbour Local Court today.



AFP Sydney office manager David Stewart said the joint operation prevented a significant amount of a dangerous drug from making it onto Australian streets.

"Depending on the purity of the powder, which will be determined by further AFP forensic testing, it could have been used to manufacture at least 1.2 million tablets of ecstasy," Mr Stewart said.

"This means the street value of this powder could be worth more than $37 million," he said.

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Over 100kg of MDMA powder seized in Sydney
Monday, 23rd April 2007
Joint media release - Australian Customs and the Australian Federal Police

A joint Customs and Australian Federal Police (AFP) operation has lead to the arrest of an Israeli national on the NSW mid-north coast yesterday and the seizure of 113kgs of MDMA (ecstasy) powder in Sydney.

The 46-year-old man was arrested at Bellingen yesterday and charged with importing the MDMA. He is expected to appear in Coffs Harbour Local Court today.

The AFP will allege in court that the man imported the MDMA powder inside hot water systems from Israel.

The operation began on 31 March when Customs officers at the Customs container examination facility at Port Botany targeted a shipment of solar hot water systems sent from Israel.

The hot water systems were x-rayed, with three of the six cylinders shown to have anomalies.

Further Customs examinations located 172 tennis ball cans inside the systems that contained powder. A sample from one of the packages tested positive for MDMA.

Customs referred the matter to the AFP, which substituted the package with an inert substance and monitored the delivery of the package to a warehouse in the Sydney suburb of Artarmon.

AFP agents arrested the man yesterday morning after executing two search warrants at a property near the NSW mid-north coast town of Bellingen. Search warrants were also executed on the Artarmon warehouse, a property in Marrickville and a vehicle in the City.

An additional search warrant was executed on a Melbourne residence, where AFP members seized approximately $25,000 in cash.

Customs NSW Regional Director Gail Batman said the seizure illustrated the efforts of both agencies to work together to effectively intercept and prevent illegal drugs from reaching the Australian community.

"Using high-level x-ray equipment, Customs officers were able to locate the drugs concealed in the hot water tanks," she said.

"It was a sophisticated attempt to smuggle drugs into the country which has been foiled by a combination of expertise and technology."

AFP Sydney Office Manager David Stewart said the joint operation had prevented a significant amount of a dangerous drug from making it onto the streets.

"Depending on the purity of the powder, which will be determined by further AFP forensic testing, it could have been used to manufacture at least 1.2 million tablets of ecstasy," Federal Agent Stewart said.

"This means the street value of this powder could be worth more than $37 million."

The Israeli national was charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of border controlled drug, namely MDMA, under Section 307.1 of the Criminal Code Act 1995. He was also charged with one count of attempt to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug under Section 307.5 by virtue of Section 11.1 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.

The maximum penalty for this offence is $825,000 and/or life imprisonment.

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Mr Stewart said that based on the calculation that ecstasy contained about 25-30 per cent MDMA, the powder could make about 1.2 million pills. The seizure would have a short-term effect on the availability of ecstasy, he said

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Significant Drug Seizure – Operation Velvet

Over the last four months, Organised Crime Squad have been targeting the large scale distribution of Heroin in Perth.

As a result of this operation, a 28 year old man of Landsdale was arrested on Friday April 20, 2007 allegedly in possession of 843.01 grams of heroin and 10.22 grams of Methylamphetamine.

The 28 year old male has been charged with:

Possess Heroin with Intent to Sell/Supply
Possess Methylamphetamine with Intent to Sell/Supply

As a result of the seizure the Proceeds of Crime Squad have prepared freezing notices for inexcess of $2 million worth of property and assets.

The man appeared before the Perth Magistrates Court 23 April 2007 (today) and was remanded in custody until 10 May 2007.

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Drug bust trio in court
April 23, 2007 02:50pm

THE DISCOVERY of a clandestine drug laboratory at Prospect led to three people being arrest for producing amphetamines on Sunday.

Holden Hill police found the drug lab in an Edinburgh St house at about 9pm.

Two men, aged 47 and 25, and a woman, 25, have been arrested for producing amphetamines.

They have been refused police bail and will appear in the Holden Hill Magistrates Court today.

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Vizard's ice-crazed burglar gets 6 years
Natasha Robinson
April 24, 2007

A BURGLAR who broke in to Steve Vizard's house and then tried to run down the former funnyman in his own driveway has been sentenced to almost six years in prison.

Eric Mark Lawson was driven "crazy" by the drug crystal methamphetamine, or ice, before setting out on an 11-week robbery binge, the Victorian County Court heard yesterday.

Lawson committed a string of burglaries, stealing items including luxury cars that he later abandoned.

After one burglary, he led police on a "hair-raising pursuit" in a stolen Jaguar. Police were forced to halt the car chase and call in a helicopter when the 22-year-old burglar hit speeds of 280km/h.

Lawson, who was on parole when he committed the crimes, pleaded guilty to 52 charges including theft, aggravated burglary, burglary, causing serious injury and obtaining property by deception.

The burglary of Mr Vizard's family home in the plush Melbourne suburb of Toorak was the last in Lawson's crime spree before he was arrested by police on December 23, 2005.

Mr Vizard's teenage daughter woke up as Lawson crept past her bedroom at about 4am on December 14 and alerted her father, who ran outside as Lawson prepared to speed off in a stolen Alfa Romeo.

As Mr Vizard bent down to check the car's number plate, Lawson hit the accelerator and forced Mr Vizard to leap out of the way of the fishtailing car.

Lawson stole five laptop computers and a purse from Mr Vizard's home.

The court heard yesterday Lawson had assaulted a number of victims who tried to prevent his robberies.

In sentencing yesterday, judge Lance Pilgrim said Lawson had admitted to a psychologist he "went crazy" on the drug ice.

He said Lawson's crimes were an example of "the absolute mayhem that is coming upon our society through the abuse of methamphetamine".

Judge Pilgrim said he took into account that Lawson, who is Aboriginal, had experienced tragedy in his life, including the suicide of his father and the death of his baby son in a hit-and-run accident.

Lawson was jailed for six years and one month, with a minimum of 40 months in prison.

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Drug lab found in home
May 01, 2007 07:23am

A 35-YEAR-OLD man faces drug charges after around 70 cannabis plants were discovered in a Gold Coast home.

The man was arrested after a raid on a home at Upper Coomera last night in which the hydroponic crop was allegedly discovered in two bedrooms, police said.

He was charged with supply dangerous drugs, produce dangerous drugs, possess dangerous drugs and other drug related property offences and was bailed to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on May 14.

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