July 30, 2021- 12:55 p.m.
$1 million seized in biggest drug bust in Broome’s history
In total police seized around $450,000 worth of meth, $155,000 worth of ecstasy, $230,000 worth of cannabis and $57,475 in cash.
Police said seven men and two women had been charged with 69 offences ranging from possessing prohibited drugs with intent to sell or supply, and possession of drug paraphernalia and a controlled weapon.
WA detectives have revealed the results of two seven-month investigations designed to weed out local dealers and couriers carting drugs into the community from Perth.
Operations Roostley and Paravent have been running since January, and have helped to uncover 15 kilograms of methamphetamine, MDMA and cannabis before it could hit the streets.
“Drugs is a big part of the community up here and we’re always trying to identify people,” he said.”
Looking back through the statistics we have, I believe this is the biggest single seizure of meth and MDMA in Broome’s history.
Police said there was still a long way to go in the fight against drugs in the Broome community.
Senior Constable Garcia said there was a noticeable drop in the drug supply in the region during the COVID-19 lockdown last year.”But now travel is open, those gateways to get back up here are just as easy as they were before,” he said.
He said police were beginning to see a resurgence in the market earlier this year and it was important to act quickly.
“We’re quite happy with our results so far for the first seven months of the year,” Senior Constable Garcia said.
“We’ve had a couple of [arrests] at traffic stops — one of which where we seized 14 kilos of cannabis and $50,000 in cash,” he said.
“In one case, two men were arrested after a search of their car allegedly uncovered 390 grams of meth and 55 grams of MDMA.
Senior Constable Garcia said the investigation also led to a Perth house being searched, resulting in almost 500 grams of illegal drugs being found.
