Significant Drug Seizure – Padbury

Organised Crime Squad detectives have charged six people as part of an investigation into a suspected serious organised crime group (SOC group) operating between Western Australia and South Australia.

As part of the investigation a search warrant was executed at a residence in Warburton Avenue, Padbury on Monday 25 May 2020. Four people were detained at the residence, and it will be alleged the search resulted in 12.2kg of Methylamphetamine being located.

Three of the people at the residence, a 30-year-old man from Trigg, a 30-year-old man from Inglewood and a 42-year-old man from Padbury have been charged with ‘Possessed a Trafficable Quantity of Methylamphetamine with Intent to Sell or Supply’.

The Trigg man has also been charged with Possession of Stolen or Unlawfully Obtained Property’ and ‘Possession of Drug Paraphernalia’. The Padbury man has also been charged with ‘Possess a Prohibited Drug (Methylamphetamine)’ and ‘Possessed any drug paraphernalia in or on which there was a prohibited drug or plant’.

They were both refused bail and appeared in the Joondalup Magistrates Court on Tuesday 26 May 2020, and are next due to appear in the same court on Monday 22 June 2020.

Shortly after the arrests in Padbury a search warrant was executed at a motel on Albany Highway, Beckenham, where two South Australian truck drivers were arrested. The two men had recently arrived from South Australia. It will be alleged a search of their motel room located in excess of $100,000 cash.

The 51-year-old and 53-year-old South Australian men have been charged with ‘Sold or supplied, or offered to sell or supply, a trafficable quantity of Methylamphetamine’ and ‘Laundering Property/Money from Proceeds of Major Offence’.

They were both refused bail and appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday 26 May 2020, and are next due to appear in the same court on Tuesday 16 June 2020.

Search warrants were also executed at residences in Beaufort Street (Mount Lawley), Tonbridge Way (Morley), Harold Street (Highgate), Lambourne Retreat (Mirrabooka), Arnott Street (Trigg) and Moore Gardens (Kardinya).

A 23-year-old Highgate man was arrested during the search warrant in Highgate. It will be alleged he was involved in the exchange of methylamphetamine and cash. He has been charged with ‘Sold or supplied, or offered to sell or supply, a trafficable quantity of Methylamphetamine’ and ‘Laundering Property/Money from Proceeds of Major Offence’.

He was refused bail and appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday 26 May 2020, and is next due to appear in the same court on Tuesday 16 June 2020.

Detective Superintendent Tony Longhorn, from the Serious and Organised Crime Division, said the seizure of 12kg of methylamphetamine indicates the presence of a well-established criminal network.

“Based on the amount of methylamphetamine seized, and the manner in which the drugs and cash were transported and exchanged, it is evident that there was a significant amount of planning involved in the movement of these drugs.

“12.2kg of methylamphetamine represents more than 120,000 hits of the lethal drug – that is more than 120,000 hits of harm being removed from our streets. These drugs would have done untold damage to individuals, to families, to our community. These drugs would have been distributed in our community – with countless vulnerable members of our community being on the receiving end, vulnerable people who are preyed on by criminal networks who want to profit from the misery they create.

“Our investigation doesn’t stop with these arrests. We will continue to work with our interstate and Commonwealth intelligence and law enforcement partners to investigate who else was involved in this criminal network – regardless of where they are based.”

The Hon. Michelle Roberts MLA, Minister for Police, said the pandemic has not stopped the work of our police.

“We remain strongly focused on keeping the community safe in every respect both from coronavirus and the scourge of methamphetamine.

“This is yet another example of how our police continue to carry out complex operations to nab not only the people selling drugs in our community, but also the major players who traffic this poison into our state.

“Had this got into the community, it would have caused enormous misery.

“I’d like to thank the Drug Squad for the excellent work they continue to do in stopping this insidious drug hitting our streets.”

/Public Release. View in full here.