A LIGHT plane carrying 45kg of cannabis and other drugs has been intercepted as police target bikie-linked criminals smuggling guns and d...
A LIGHT plane carrying 45kg of cannabis and other drugs has been intercepted as police target bikie-linked criminals smuggling guns and drugs from South Australia into NSW.
BN- The pilot of the plane was arrested when it landed in the NSW town of Deniliquin, close to the Victorian border, on Wednesday afternoon.
Police allege affiliates of the Descendants and Hells Angels bikie gangs in South Australia have been smuggling commercial quantities of drugs and firearms into NSW, and the drug-laden plane was part of that operation.
Police say the plane was carrying 45kg of cannabis and 4kg of a precursor used to make ice.
As part of the operation, simultaneous search warrants were executed in Hay, 120km north of Deniliquin, nine properties in Adelaide, and a number of properties on Queensland’s Gold Coast and in Brisbane.
The 67-year-old pilot, from Queensland, has been charged with supplying commercial quantities of drugs. He’ll face the Deniliquin Local Court on Thursday.
Four men, aged 29 to 46, were arrested in the Hay operation and charged with gun supply. They’ll also face court on Thursday. Six men, aged 28 to 52, were arrested in the Adelaide raids. No details of any charges have been released.
There were no details of any arrests stemming from the Queensland raids.
The cross-border operation stemmed from the work of a strike force set up in January to investigate the supply of illegal firearms in the Hay area of NSW.
Over the past eight months, police have seized 38 guns, 100 ecstasy pills and small amount of ice, and also uncovered links to bikie gang activity in South Australia.
Gang Squad Detective Inspector Gavin Wood has praised the hard work of police across three states.
Deniliquin Local Area Commander, Superintendent Paul Condon, said officers had disrupted a major supply chain of guns and drugs into his area, and further afield.
“Their work is to be commended,” he said.
More: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/bikie-drug-plane-carrying-45kg-of-cannabis-seized-by-police-in-deniliquin/story-fni0cx12-1227510335990?nk=7140b8f445115bae4312895cd31a3f8b-1441459210
