By ALESHA CAPONE
POLICE turned out in force to conduct a drugs operation, the first of its kind, in St Albans last Wednesday.
Around 14 police officers and two PAD (Passive Alert Detection) dogs assembled in Alfrieda St and the surrounding areas for Operation Disburses.
Sergeant Murray Trudel, from the Brimbank Safer Communities Taskforce, said police processed three people for possessing drugs during the four-hour operation.
“Two were dealt with by way of caution and one man was charged and bailed for possessing amphetamines,” he said.
Another suspect was found to be carrying heroin and the third was detected with prescription drugs.
“We’re talking small amounts,” Sgt Trudel said.
“It was a successful operation, and we gathered quite a bit of intelligence as well from talking to people on the day.”
He said the event was the first time police have conducted this type of drugs operation within St Albans.
“It has been identified as an area of high-drug activity, so we put the operation together and we had a good result,” Sgt Trudel said.
“Based on the success of the operation, I definitely think we would possibly follow that up with other operations in other areas of Brimbank in the future.”
In August last year, Star revealed a report has called for the West to get improved access to syringes, drug services and a supervised injecting facility.
The HealthWest Partnership study said demand for syringes had grown by almost 200 per cent in Brimbank across the past decade.
The report also reccommended that the service, which offers after-hours access to needles, should be extended to Deer Park and St Albans.
Presently, the North West Mobile Outreach Service only covers the Maribyrnong municipality and a small part of Brimbank.
Anyone with information about drug activity can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
