As the sun rose on Wednesday, police officers surrounded 10 homes in Wellington and Montefiroes in the central west after a 14-month investigation into an alleged drug syndicate distrubuting ice into central NSW.
NSW Police arrested seven men aged between 28 and 44-years-old and three women aged between 23 and 35-years-old for their alleged involvement in the network.
Police have arrested 16 people in the central west and Sydney for their alleged involvement in a drug syndicate. Credit:NSW Police
Police also searched five properties in Bankstown, Bass Hill, Condell Park and two in Yagoona, in Sydney south-west, where they arrested six more men, aged between 23 and 53-years-old.
Methamphetamine, heroin, cannabis, cash, firearms and several vehicles are alleged to have been seized.
Police and a State MP hailed the investigation for breaking up a major ice syndicate allegedly operating in central NSW. It is also alleged the syndicate distributed to various correctional centres.
"Our investigation has now (allegedly) completely smashed this syndicate, netting not just low-level distributors, but the ‘kingpins’ at the top. This is more than just your average drug bust," Western Region Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said.
"We will be alleging individuals in Wellington had supply links in Sydney, and distributed to the far corners of NSW, reaching towns such as Bourke, Coonamble and Walgett, in the state’s central north, and various remote Indigenous communities too."
Mr McKenna said about 200 police had been involved on Wednesday and the estimated street value of drugs seized was in the millions.
"Wellington gets a bad wrap, people think that ice and Wellington go hand in hand, well I can tell you they don’t," he said.
Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said he hoped the police operation would end Wellington's reputation as a drug capital.
"This is a town with a lot of potential," he said. "Today can mark the start of something new."
Investigations into the syndicate started in February 2019, with initial inquiries leading police to believe it was sourcing drugs - mainly methamphetamine, as well as MDMA and heroin from Sydney, and distributing it to regional towns.
In January 2020, police began investigating the syndicate’s links in Sydney and charged 15 people for their alleged involvement, several of whom remain before the courts.
Commissioner Mick Fuller talks to the media outside Dubbo Police Station
Prior to Wednesday's operation, police say they had seized 14 kilograms of methylamphetamine with an estimated street value of $10.5 million, 2.4 kilograms of heroin, 80 litres of GHB, 21 firearms and more than $215,000 in cash.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, who was in Wellington on Wednesday morning to oversee the operation, said: "Ice is such a destructive drug, it kills people and it tears families apart – and we know its devastation is particularly evident in our regional communities."
"My officers are on the frontline dealing with the effects of this drug and the violence it causes every single day and today’s operation is an important milestone in our fight against it."
NSW Police said in a statement more arrests are expected as inquiries continue.
Laura is a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-05-27 08:19:58Z
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