The Aus/NZ/Asian Drug Busts Mega-Thread El Número Cuatro

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Police speak to 80 year old woman after hydroponics set up found in her Umina home

Police investigations continue following a drug raid on the New South Wales Central Coast, where hydroponic growing equipment was seized from the home of an 80 year old woman.

Three homes were searched yesterday and police found cannabis leaf at homes in Kincumber and Umina Beach as well as cash and hydroponic equipment from another Umina Beach house, occupied by the 80 year old woman.

A 51 year old man has been charged with a raft of offences including supplying an indictable quantity of cannabis, a 21 year old has been charged with possessing and supplying a prohibited drug and the 80 year old woman has been spoken to.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-...d-woman-after-hydroponics-set-up-foun/4873608

 

[poledriver]

Police seize $500,000 worth of drugs - Deniliquin LAC

*** Images of the seized crop are available by contacting the NSW Police Media Unit on
(02) 8263 6100. ***

Police have located drugs with an estimated street value of $500,000 during a search warrant near the Victorian border.

About 2pm yesterday (Wednesday 7 August 2013), officers executed a search warrant at a property in Goodnight, in the Deniliquin Local Area Command.

During the search, police located hydroponic set ups, and 134 cannabis plants, which were seized.

The residence was initially unoccupied, however a man who attended the property during the course of the search warrant was spoken to and released pending further inquiries.

Investigations are continuing and anyone with information is urged to come forward.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/m...nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjMxNzU3Lmh0bWwmYWxsPTE=

 

[poledriver]

Man arrested in Perth over NSW firearm, drug and breaking offences - Strike Force Wellard

A man wanted by the NSW Police Force Property Crime Squad for drug, firearm and aggravated break and enter offences has been arrested in Perth, Western Australia.

Strike Force Wellard is a Property Crime Squad investigation into an aggravated break and enter at a Western Sydney pharmaceutical company in March 2011 during which large quantities of codeine, pseudoephedrine and lidocaine were stolen.

In December 2011, detectives raided a storage unit at Girraween, in Western Sydney, where they seized a semi-automatic pistol, a self-loading rifle and 93kg of the stolen drugs.

Detectives subsequently applied for and were granted arrest warrants for a man, now aged 38, for numerous offences including supply large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs, possess unauthorised firearms, and aggravated break enter and steal.

Extensive inquiries have been conducted since then in an attempt to locate the man; however, he continued to evade police.

About 10.20am (WA) Tuesday 6 August 2013, Western Australia Police Tactical Response Group officers and Kensington Detectives, acting on information from Strike Force Wellard, arrested the 38-year-old man.

He was charged by virtue of the arrest warrants and appeared at the Perth Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday where NSW detectives were granted the man’s extradition to Sydney.

He arrived at Sydney yesterday (Friday 9 August 2013) and was taken to Mascot Police Station where he was charged with a total of seven offences.

He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court today.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/m...nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjMxNzkyLmh0bWwmYWxsPTE=

 

[poledriver]

Man charged over drug offences - Callaghan

A 22-year-old Cooks Hill man has faced court after being charged with drug offences last week.

About 12.40pm on Friday, 9 August 2013, police observed the man supplying alleged prohibited drugs to another man in a bar, after undertaking patrolling duties at a tertiary education venue in Callaghan last week.

Police spoke to the 22-year-old man, who admitted to supplying four tablets to the man. He also admitted to having a large quantity of further drugs at his residence.

He was arrested and conveyed to Waratah Police Station.

A search of the man’s premises resulted in 50 MDMA capsules, 80 LSD tablets, a total of 3.28 grams of Cocaine and two MDA capsules located.

The man was charged with four counts of supply prohibited drug and four counts of posses prohibited drugs. He was refused bail and appeared at Newcastle Local Court on Saturday, 10 August 2013.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/l...nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjMxODM2Lmh0bWwmYWxsPTE=

 

[poledriver]

Hells Angel arrest as police bust drug ring

A Sydney Hells Angels bikie gang boss is in custody after police smashed an international drug ring accused of importing enough chemicals to make $300 million of the party drugs ice and speed.

Four men are before the courts after police seized more than half a tonne of precursor drugs phenylpropanolamine and pseudoephedrine in two shipments from the Netherlands, a police spokeswoman said.

Officers arrested three men in Australia and one man in the Netherlands last Thursday during an undercover operation led by the NSW Police drug squad.

The president of the Hells Angels' Chinatown chapter, Maziyar John Ebrahimi, 34, allegedly helped to import two shipments last year, court documents allege. But he was arrested only after he allegedly supplied a buyer with 10 kilograms of a precursor at Baulkham Hills on August 2 this year.
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It is understood Mr Ebrahimi is also acting as the head of the Hells Angels' Sydney city chapter while president Felix Lyle remains in custody. Mr Lyle is accused of a part in plotting to import black market Glock pistols into Sydney.

Officers attached to the Gangs Squad's Strike Force Raptor arrested Mr Ebrahimi at Chatswood, on Sydney's north shore, last Thursday. He is accused of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled precursor, phenylpropanolamine, in December last year. Police also allege he imported a shipment of pseudoephedrine between January and August last year.

Mr Ebrahimi, of South Wentworthville, spent the night in police custody, then appeared briefly before Hornsby Local Court last Friday. He is charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled precursor, intentionally importing prohibited tier-one goods and supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

Bail was not applied for but it was formally refused by Magistrate Alison Viney.

Police arrested alleged co-offender David George Hood, 65, at Ourimbah, on the state's central coast, on the same day as Ebrahimi.

Mr Hood is accused of conspiring to import pseudoephedrine with Mr Ebrahimi, and a 39-year-old American national, in 2012, according to court documents.

Police allege he was found with $61,900, and 1.3 kilograms of the drug known as ice.

It is understood Mr Hood, from Toukley, was not a member of the Hells Angels. He was charged with three offences, including importation and supply charges. He did not apply for bail but it was formally refused by Magistrate Susan McIntyre during his brief appearance at Wyong Local Court last Friday. Mr Ebrahimi and Mr Hood are expected to reappear in court next month.

Strike Force Mindona was formed to investigate the importation of precursor drugs and the subsequent manufacture of prohibited drugs.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/hells-angel-arrest-as-police-bust-drug-ring-20130814-2rwu5.html

 

[poledriver]

Media Release: Man charged with importing 2kgs of cocaine into Sydney

A 71-year-old dual Chilean/Canadian national is scheduled to appear in Sydney Central Local Court today charged with importing two kilograms of cocaine into Australia.

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) officers selected the man for a baggage examination when he arrived at Sydney Airport yesterday on a flight from Chile.

The ACBPS officers x-rayed the man’s carry-on bag during the examination and noticed anomalies in the lining. The officers further inspected the bag’s lining and found a white powder. Initial testing of the powder was positive for cocaine.

The matter was referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), who later charged the man with importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, namely cocaine, contrary to section 307.2 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.

Further forensic testing will be undertaken to confirm the exact weight and purity of the substance.

The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years imprisonment and/or an $850,000 fine.

http://www.afp.gov.au/media-centre/...th importing-2kgs-of-cocaine-into-Sydney.aspx

 

[poledriver]

THREE MEN ARRESTED AFTER CANNABIS SEIZURE AT HILLSIDE

A specialist squad working out of the Melton Crime Investigation Unit needed a truck to haul away a cannabis crop located in a Hillside house last Monday.

Police executed a search warrant at the Honeysuckle Avenue address just after 1pm and found several rooms in the house being used to cultivate cannabis.

Two men were also arrested at the house with a third man arrested the next day.

The weight of the cannabis was in excess of 200 kilograms with most plants at their maximum maturity.

Two men, Michael Ogliarolo, 22, and Angelo Axiak, 34, both of Caroline Springs were remanded in custody and appeared at the Sunshine Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning.

The third man, Michael Smith, 38, of Hillside was bailed by a bail justice to appear at the same court on 19 August.

The three men have been charged with cultivate commercial amount of cannabis and theft of power.

http://www.vicpolicenews.com.au/news/1170-three-men-arrested-after-cannabis-seizure-at-hillside.html

 

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Adelaide Hills hunt nets $80m worth of drugs in four months: police

Police say an ongoing operation near Kersbrook in the Adelaide Hills has so far yielded a quantity of illegal drugs with an estimated street value of $80 million.

In March, a police patrol on the look out for arsonists uncovered several kilograms of methamphetamines buried along the side of Mount Gawler Road.

Two men were later arrested.

Police and SES volunteers are continuing to search the area after more packages were found during the past four months.

Police say the drugs were hidden in a remote part of the hills.

At the time of the initial bust police estimated the street value of the drugs at $21 million, an amount that has increased since further finds.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-15/hills-hunt-nets-2480m-worth-of-drugs3a-police/4889536

 

[poledriver]

'Free in a day': Drug mule's courtroom tears

A young drug mule has burst into tears in court after she was told she'd be out of jail in a day.

Isabel Martins, 21, was offered up to $15,000 if she helped bring drugs from Thailand into Australia last year.

She was the drug mule of Joseph Harb, who had recruited customs officer Paul Katralis to help.

The pair smuggled 14 kilograms of the precursor drug pseudoephedrine through customs at Sydney Airport a year ago.

But they were soon caught after Australian Federal Police intercepted calls between Harb and the customs officer.

Martins, who pleaded guilty to drug importation, faced sentencing at Downing Centre District Court on Friday.

Judge Robert Sorby said although drug couriers were at the bottom of the a drug ladder, without them importation could not occur.

He acknowledged her youth, her drug addictions at the time, her family support and her rehabilitation efforts.

When he told her she will be out of jail on Saturday, she fell into her seat in the dock and burst into tears.

Martins was place on a two-year good behaviour bond.

In May, Harb was jailed for at least five-and-a-half years for being the "facilitator" of the operation.

Katralis was jailed for a minimum of four years.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/free-in-a-day-drug-mules-courtroom-tears-20130816-2s1ry.html#ixzz2c7Qra21R

 

[poledriver]

Three charged over $6m ice haul in Sydney suburb of St Clair

Three people have been charged after police seized $6 million worth of the drug ice at a house in Sydney's west.

Drug Squad detectives raided the house on Ashford Grove at St Clair on Wednesday last week, August 7.

Police believed the house was being used to manufacture drugs.

Inside they allegedly found six kilograms of ice, also known as methylamphetamine, which police estimate would be worth $6 million on the streets.

A man and woman, both 31, were arrested at the home and charged with commercial drug supply.

Both have been held in custody since, with the woman due to face Penrith Local Court today while the man is due in the same court in early October.

Yesterday a third person handed himself in at Parramatta Police Station.

The 29-year-old Mount Annan man has also been charged with commercial drug supply and was held in custody overnight to face Parramatta Local Court today.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-16/three-charged-over-246m-sydney-ice-haul/4892062

 

[poledriver]

Third man charged over alleged large-scale drug supply - Rosehill LAC

Police have charged a third man following a six-month investigation into alleged large-scale drug supply in Sydney’s west.

Detectives from Rosehill Local Area Command formed Strike Force Cutlass in February 2013 to investigate the alleged illegal supply of methylamphetamine (“Ice”) in Sydney’s south-west and north-west by members of the “Brothers for Life” gang.

About 6.45am on Monday 12 August 2013, officers attached to Strike Force Cutlass executed simultaneous search warrants at residences in Parramatta, Granville, Guildford and Old Guildford, and a barber shop in Guildford.

During the searches, police seized drugs, cash, clothing and other items relevant to the investigation.

About 6pm yesterday (Thursday 15 August 2013), police arrested a 25-year-old man at Parramatta Police Station.

He was charged with five counts of supply prohibited drug and knowingly participate in criminal group.

The man was given conditional bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday 25 September 2013.

Strike Force Cutlass has previously charged two men and a woman with drug offences.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/m...nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjMxOTIxLmh0bWwmYWxsPTE=

 

[poledriver]

International drug bust nets 750kgs of cocaine

An international law enforcement operation has seized 750 kilograms of cocaine bound for Australia.

The drugs were found on a yacht in a Vanuatu port, hidden underneath concrete which required a chisel to access, and are estimated to be worth about $370 million.

Australian Federal Police agents joined Australian customs concealment experts and US officials in Port Vila on Monday to examine the massive drug bust, one of the largest Australian law agencies have been involved in.

The boat, known to authorities as the ‘Raj’ but renamed ‘Scope’, was docked and no one was on board when the seizure was made.

No arrests have been made at this time. Authorities said the boat was for sale at the time it was raided.

The drug bust is the largest made under Project Cringle, an operation set up in 2010 by the AFP, Australian Customs and Border Production and the US Drug Enforcement Administration targeting criminal organisations using the South Pacific as a transit point and staging area.

Customs Compliance and Enforcement national director Karen Harfield said there was a sophisticated concealment of the drugs in the lower engine compartments and around the keel area of the hull.

“Certainly the coverage made it particularly difficult - the actual ability to access the gaps where the drugs could be concealed meant you had to use a chisel, rather than being able to open compartments or pull compartments apart,” Ms Harfield said.

AFP Serious and Organised Crime national manager, Assistant Commissioner Ramzi Jabbour said the success would make an impact on trade in Australia, but work remained to be done

“We’ve been exceedingly successful - on this occasion we’ve taken the legs out from underneath them, but we’re not resting on their laurels.”

“With respect to the price of the commodity [cocaine] on our streets, this is an indication that it is readily available, but efforts like this will certainly make an impact.”

Assistant Commissioner Jabbour said the deal has presented potentially more than 750,000 individual deals from reaching Australian streets.

Project Cringle has resulted in the seizure of almost two tonnes of cocaine destined for Australia from five vessels.

There have been ten previous arrests under Operation Cringle.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/inte...-of-cocaine-20130823-2sfsq.html#ixzz2ckm1hkeE

 

[poledriver]

Adam Freeman pleads guilty to drug manufacture


Kings Cross nightclub owner Adam Freeman has admitted his role in a multimillion-dollar drug manufacturing operation.

The son of the late underworld figure George Freeman now faces a maximum sentence of life in jail after pleading guilty to the manufacture of a commercial quantity - 19.2 kilograms - of the drug ecstasy, worth an estimated $3 million.

Freeman, 30, who owns a furniture supply business and is associated with a number of clubs in Kings Cross, was extradited back to Australia to face the charges.

He flew to Bangkok on December 16, 2010 - a day after police arrested two co-accused near Tamworth.

Police had stopped a van in which the two men were travelling for a random breath test, and officers allegedly located drugs and equipment to manufacture drugs.

The Crown claimed at the time that the manufacture was carried out at a nearby property.

Analysis of glass flasks in the van contained fingerprints including Freeman's, the documents said.

The men were granted bail initially, and one of them flew to Sydney on December 16 and met with Freeman.

"Following this meeting, Freeman purchased an open ticket to Hong Kong, paying cash," initial court documents said. After that, he flew to Bangkok.

Police from Strike Force Harrower raided the suspected property, which cannot be identified for legal reasons, within weeks, seizing more equipment consistent with the manufacture of drugs.

A toaster and a kettle also bore Freeman's fingerprints.

He was returned to Sydney on August 5, 2011 after he volunteered himself to authorities following the issue of a global arrest warrant.

The crown has previously alleged that Freeman was at the property continuously from November 24 until December 16.

On Wednesday morning, Freeman told the Chief Judge of the District Court, Reg Blanch, he was pleading "guilty" to a single charge that he manufactured a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug at Werris Creek between November 23 and December 16, 2010.

Additional charges relating to a further 40 kilograms were not pursued by the Crown.

His barrister, Ronald Driels, asked for at least six weeks to prepare the case for sentencing.

Justice Blanch adjourned the matter to November 7 for a sentencing hearing.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/adam-free...manufacture-20130904-2t4di.html#ixzz2dzPAo1DV

 

[catching fish]

23 Year Old Man Charged With Marijuana Possession

A 23 year old Sydney man was caught with .8 of a gram of marijuana outside Town Hall train station this week. The police involved lectured him about the clear laws in place relating to the drug, however one officer was sympathetic towards the suspect and assured him that he was understood that the rules were crazy but he was just doing his job.

The man was issued a $20 fine and released, and was forced to watch the latest episode of Breaking Bad sober.

 

[Oldred3s]

Adam Freeman pleads guilty to drug manufacture


Kings Cross nightclub owner Adam Freeman has admitted his role in a multimillion-dollar drug manufacturing operation.

The son of the late underworld figure George Freeman now faces a maximum sentence of life in jail after pleading guilty to the manufacture of a commercial quantity - 19.2 kilograms - of the drug ecstasy, worth an estimated $3 million.

Freeman, 30, who owns a furniture supply business and is associated with a number of clubs in Kings Cross, was extradited back to Australia to face the charges.

He flew to Bangkok on December 16, 2010 - a day after police arrested two co-accused near Tamworth.

Police had stopped a van in which the two men were travelling for a random breath test, and officers allegedly located drugs and equipment to manufacture drugs.

The Crown claimed at the time that the manufacture was carried out at a nearby property.

Analysis of glass flasks in the van contained fingerprints including Freeman's, the documents said.

The men were granted bail initially, and one of them flew to Sydney on December 16 and met with Freeman.

"Following this meeting, Freeman purchased an open ticket to Hong Kong, paying cash," initial court documents said. After that, he flew to Bangkok.

Police from Strike Force Harrower raided the suspected property, which cannot be identified for legal reasons, within weeks, seizing more equipment consistent with the manufacture of drugs.

A toaster and a kettle also bore Freeman's fingerprints.

He was returned to Sydney on August 5, 2011 after he volunteered himself to authorities following the issue of a global arrest warrant.

The crown has previously alleged that Freeman was at the property continuously from November 24 until December 16.

On Wednesday morning, Freeman told the Chief Judge of the District Court, Reg Blanch, he was pleading "guilty" to a single charge that he manufactured a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug at Werris Creek between November 23 and December 16, 2010.

Additional charges relating to a further 40 kilograms were not pursued by the Crown.

His barrister, Ronald Driels, asked for at least six weeks to prepare the case for sentencing.

Justice Blanch adjourned the matter to November 7 for a sentencing hearing.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/adam-free...manufacture-20130904-2t4di.html#ixzz2dzPAo1DV

I wonder if he had anything to do with pressing pills to? If so good riddance to te scamming cunt.

 

[poledriver]

Media Release: Man charged for importing 5 kilograms of drugs into Perth

A 53-year-old German national is scheduled to appear in Stirling Gardens Magistrate Court tomorrow (4 September 2013), charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for attempting to import five kilograms of methamphetamine.

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) officers selected the man for a baggage examination when he arrived at Perth Airport on 19 August 2013 on a flight from Brussels.

An x-ray of the man’s baggage revealed a possible concealment within the lining of his suitcase. ACBPS officers deconstructed the suitcase and located a sealed plastic bag containing white crystals. Initial tests indicated the substance was methamphetamine.

Further testing will be conducted to determine the exact nature and purity of the substance.

ACBPS National Manager Airport Operations South, Tonie Differding, said the detection was a significant one.

“The amount of harm these drugs could potentially have caused the community cannot be understated. This seizure is another example of the excellent border protection work our officers undertake every day,” Ms Differding said.

AFP acting National Manager Aviation David Stewart said this interception is a demonstration of the combined effort in place to stop drugs entering Australia through our airports.

“The AFP and its partner agencies share a common goal to protect our community by ensuring that dangerous drugs never hit the streets,” acting Assistant Commissioner Stewart said.

The man was charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, contrary to section 307.1 of the Criminal Code Act (cth) 1995.

The maximum penalty for this offence is $1,275,000 in fines or 25 years imprisonment.

http://www.afp.gov.au/media-centre/...mporting-5-kilograms-of-drugs-into-Perth.aspx

 

[poledriver]

Joint NSW and Tasmania Police investigation into gun and drug supply

Four handguns have been seized at a Tasmanian airport and a clandestine drug laboratory found in Sydney during joint investigations by the NSW Police Force and Tasmania Police.

Strike Force Whitfield was established by the NSW Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOCS) last month and detectives have been working closely with Tasmania Police’s Operation Web to investigate the alleged supply of firearms and drugs between the two states.

Just after 10am yesterday, security at Launceston Airport alerted police to suspicious items within checked baggage. Four handguns, a silencer, and more than $150,000 cash were located and seized.

Two men, aged 35 and 36, were arrested and charged.

Further search warrants in Tasmania led to the seizure of another three firearms and a significant quantity of methylamphetamine (‘ice’), as well as the arrests of six more people.

Meanwhile, MEOCS detectives executed a search warrant on a home on King George Road, Beverley Hills, in Sydney’s south.

A clandestine laboratory, a small quantity of methylamphetamine, cutting agent and $2690 cash were seized, and a 27-year-old man was placed under arrest.

He was charged with supply prohibited drug, possess prohibited drug, and goods in custody and refused bail to appear at Kogarah Local Court today.

Investigations by both state policing jurisdictions are continuing.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/m...vdi5hdSUyRm1lZGlhJTJGMzIzODUuaHRtbCZhbGw9MQ==

 

[poledriver]

Daughter warned off 'evil, manipulative' druggie dad

A total of 22,000 plants were found at Inglewood, near Warwick, in 2008.

THE daughter of an "evil, manipulative man" who grew one of Queensland's largest marijuana plantations raised $150,000 towards her father's legal defence through a market stall at Nimbin.

Rosemary Gardner, 35, set up a stall to raise money for Michael Bennett Gardner, also known as Dozer, who would regularly send more than 270kg of the drug for manicuring and sometimes on-selling in the Northern Rivers region.

On one occasion her father, who was jailed in 2012 for 13 years for the huge production at Inglewood, told her who owed him money and sent her to collect.

On another, Rosemary set up the stall knowing those who owed her father money would come forward to repay their debts.

Crown prosecutor David Meredith told Brisbane Supreme Court the $150,000 she raised under the legal defence guise would have been considerably less than her father was owed.

He said Rosemary had also hidden $50,000 cash that her father given her when anticipating his arrest and recovered $70,000 from the southern Darling Downs property after her father's arrest.

Mr Meredith said she destroyed a video her brother made of the operation which involved Gardner recruiting his young family, children aged 11-14, to plant seedlings and tend to thousands of plants when they should have been at school

A heavily pregnant Rosemary, now a mother of four, was instrumental in gathering the Gardner family for a get-together to plant those 10,000 marijuana seedlings in late 2007.

She would regularly help with manicuring, packaging and preparing the cut plants for sale on weekends, getting $100 for half a kilo.

"The principal criminality was the holding and collecting of money," Mr Meredith said.

"She knew it was the proceeds of cannabis (production)."

When police raided the property in 2008, they found 22,000 live marijuana plants and 3.59 tonnes dried.

The black market value amounted to almost $70 million.

Justice Ros Atkinson sentenced Rosemary to four years jail, but wholly suspended the sentence for five years.

She told Rosemary she had to stay free of her father once he was released from jail so she could avoid his control again in the future.

Ms Atkinson said Gardner was a dominating, evil, manipulative man whose actions had a detrimental effect on all his children.

Defence barrister Alastair McDougall said his client had an horrendously tragic upbringing but had still worked all her adult life.

He said she was extremely concerned about leaving her four children in the hands of their father because she already had to intervene when he had them on weekends.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/woman-warned-off-druggie-dad/2012925/

 

[poledriver]

Partygoer dies of suspected drug overdose at Defqon music festival

ONE man is dead and fourteen others are in hospital after suspected drug overdoses at a music festival in Penrith, Sydney yesterday.

The 23-year-old deceased reveller travelled to the Defqon.1 festival by car with several friends. Just before midday he was taken in to the festival's medical tent, where his condition quickly deteriorated and he suffered several seizures, police say.

An ambulance was then called and took the man to Nepean Hospital. He was resuscitated numerous times after multiple cardiac arrests. He died at 10.30pm last night.

A police spokesman told The Daily Telegraph they were unsure what substance the man had taken.

"That information is being prepared for the coroner," he said.

"It is certainly a warning to others out there if it was an overdose, which is what it is looking like."

18,000 people descended on the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith yesterday. A police operation with drug dogs nabbed 87 partygoers, three for public order offences and the remainder for drug offences.

Police believe at least another 14 patrons were taken to hospital suffering drug overdoses.

An attendee took to Twitter saying the death may have been associated with a bad batch of ecstasy pills. Police have not confirmed this allegation.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national-new...al/story-fncynjr2-1226719412476#ixzz2evSpqqHK

 

[Jabberwocky]

GEELONG police are cracking down on backyard drug labs as an increasing number of ice addicts and dealers try to cook up the methamphetamine in their kitchens and car boots.

Detective Senior Sergeant Dave McTaggart, of the Geelong Police Divisional Response Unit, said his team had executed about 15 raids in the past year.

But, while some operations were commercially viable, he said police were discovering more small-scale operations than ever before as addicts looked to "feed the habit".

"Most ice is still imported, but we are also seeing people with the Breaking Bad syndrome, where every idiot thinks they're a chemist and can cook up their own drugs with no regard for how incredibly dangerous it is," Sen-Sgt McTaggart said.

"For the past three years, ice has been far and away the biggest problem we've faced and it drives almost all crime in our community, so there will always be people thinking they can do it themselves or make a buck.

"There are some sophisticated operations, but you see others doing it from their kitchens or even the boot of their cars, driving around with the equipment all set up in the back.

"We have to get a special team out from Melbourne because it's hard to know what they are mixing and it could realistically all blow up at any minute," he said.

Police statistics show Geelong's drug offences rose 36.3 per cent from 2011 to 2012, with police busting labs in Grovedale, Lara, Leopold, North Geelong, North Shore and St Leonards.

Sen-Sgt McTaggart said his pro-active team had made "massive" inroads in the past year as it tried to stamp out the dual threat of drug and firearms crimes.

"Ice makes people crazy and completely irrational, committing crime without any planning; just doing whatever pops into their skull," he said.

"Users seem to think they are gangsters and that it is cool to carry around a firearm, so we have seized a lot of stolen firearms, particularly small guns or cut-down rifles and shotguns."

Sen-Sgt McTaggart said ice-manufacturing labs could be hard to detect, but urged Geelong residents to report any potential signs, including a chemical smell, gas cylinders or laboratory equipment, and people constantly coming and going from a house.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2013/09/18/373111_news.html