The AFP have seized half a ton of illicit drugs and arrested seven people in their largest ever ice haul. Part of the $500 million drugs haul that police say was concealed in 100 terracotta pots. Picture: Tim Hunter Source: The Daily Telegraph ILLEGAL drugs with a street value of half a billion dollars have been seized and seven people arrested in Sydney after a tip-off from US drug agents. More than half a tonne of drugs, including 306kg of crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice, and 252kg of heroin, were seized in Sydney during the operation. Seven people - all Hong Kong nationals - have been arrested. They are expected to face Sydney Local Court later Tuesday. It is the largest seizure of ice and third-largest heroin haul in Australian Federal Police history. The AFP also seized six kilograms of methamphetamine from a 55-year-old mans Green Valley residence. The bust came after US Drug Enforcement Administration agents tipped-off the AFP to an international organised crime syndicate allegedly planning to import illicit drugs into Australia. In January, Customs and Border Protection identified several people believed to be associated with the syndicate and two suspect cargo consignments were targeted. On July … Continue reading →

Huge crowds flocked to Splendour in the Grass on its return to Byron Bay. Blainey Woodham TWEED and Byron's top cop has called for "the culture of drug taking at music events" to stop, after more than 400 people were detected with drugs at Splendour in the Grass. Tweed/Byron Local Area Command Superintendent Stuart Wilkins said police were kept busy during the four-day festival with most of their time taken up with drug and alcohol-related issues. "Over 400 people were found in possession of prohibited drugs and that is simply unacceptable," he said. "This culture of drug-taking at music events needs to stop!" Many thousands attended the four-day music festival, which this year returned to its traditional home at Byron Bay's Belongil Fields after being held at Woodford in Queensland for the past two years. The more than 100 additional police brought in from around the state for operation Splendour 2012 were supported by the Mounted Unit, Dog Unit, Public Order and Riot Squad, Operation Support Group and officers from the Alcohol and Licensing Enforcement Command. Supt Wilkins said officers conducted 730 people searches, 30 vehicle searches and issued 74 move-on directions. "Drug detection dogs were used throughout the event, … Continue reading →

31 July 2012 Last updated at 01:05 ET Australian police have seized drugs worth over half a billion dollars and broken up a Hong Kong-based drugs ring. Four Hong Kong nationals and three Australian residents were also arrested in raids in Sydney on Monday. Over half a tonne of drugs, including 306kg (674.61lb) of crystal methamphetamine - also known as ''ice'' - and 252kg of heroin, were seized. The haul is the largest seizure of ''ice'' and the third largest seizure of heroin, police said. The drugs are estimated to be worth A$500m (US$526m; 335m), the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement. The raids and arrests followed a year-long investigation. "Countless lives would have been affected had this seizure made its way to Australian streets," Deputy Commissioner Andrew Colvin told Australian media. He said investigations would continue and more arrests could take place. The investigations into the syndicate began in August 2011 after a tip-off from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, police said. The drugs were found in a shipment of terracotta pots on 19 July. See original here: Australia in record drugs seizure … Continue reading →

An alleged boss of the Wellington Nomads hid a stash of thousands of dollars worth of methamphetamine in cemeteries, a court has been told. Paul Peter Mawana Rodgers, known as Porky Rimene, has pleaded guilty to supplying meth between July 2009 and February 2011, offering to supply the drug, conspiring to obstruct the course of justice, money laundering and taking part in a criminal group. He is accused of distributing more than three kilograms of meth - with a street value of $3 million - into the Wellington region. An unnamed witness told the High Court at Wellington on Monday that Rodgers had so many places to bury drugs and money that it was hard to keep track of them, Fairfax reported. The witness said he buried drugs and money at sites around Wellington and Wairarapa, including at a private urupa or cemetery in Masterton. A groundsman at Riverside Cemetery in Masterton also found a container of about $7000 worth of meth. At one stage a bulldozer working on a public track displaced a buried container and they had to use a hired metal detector to find it. The witness said Rodgers told him he would be buried if he … Continue reading →