Busted … Police raided a house and arrested this man, left, in Main Rd West, St Albans, as part of the state’s largest-ever drug raids last
By Alesha Capone
LAW enforcement officers swooped on houses in Brimbank and across the West last week, as part of the biggest drug raid Victoria Police has ever carried out.
A home in Main Rd West was one of two buildings raided in St Albans as part of Operation Entity, which resulted in 893 cannabis plants being seized, 115 properties raided and 93 people getting arrested.
More than 600 members of the Drug Task Force, Criminal Proceeds Squad, Crime Department, Operations Response Unit, specialist squads and police took part in the raids.
Nine houses in Burnside Heights and six in Kings Park were also searched during the operation.
Homes in Albanvale, Burnside, Cairnlea, Caroline Springs, Derrimut, Taylors Hill, Hillside, Melton and Melton South were also raided by police during the drugs bust.
Other homes raided in the West were located in Footscray West, Altona Meadows, Wyndham Vale, Tarneit and Hoppers Crossing.
“This week’s historic raids have struck a significant blow to organised drug syndicates across the state,” Victoria Police Detective Superintendent Gerry Ryan said.
The drug seizures came after a two-year investigation into suspected crime syndicates involved in the cultivation and distribution of cannabis.
Police said they believed the syndicates were responsible for the production of almost $400 million worth of cannabis across the past two years.
“The results of this substantial operation provide police with vital intelligence that will ensure we continue to destroy these criminal networks,” Det Supt Ryan said.
During the raids, electricity companies shut off the power in the targeted homes, as most of them had complex hydroponic systems using redirected electricity.
Three houses in Wyndham Vale, including two on Greens Road, two houses in Tarneit and one in Hoppers Crossing were raided as part of Operation Entity, which saw 68 warrants executed around Victoria.
Two of the houses in Wyndham Vale, only a few doors apart on Greens Road, had a combined total of over 500 cannabis plants seized as part of the raids.
The operation, which had to be postponed due to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Melbourne, resulted in police confiscating 8040 of the illegal plants.
Sarah Richardson, who lives two doors down from one of the properties, said she had no idea her neigh-bours were growing the drugs.
“It’s quite scary really,”she said.
“I don’t really talk to my neighbours for that reason; you don’t know what they might be doing.”
The mother of two young boys said she moved to the area only a short time ago because she thought it would be a safe neighbourhood.
It is believed that the majority of the drug houses have connections with Vietnamese drug rings.
Deputy Commissioner, Sir Ken Jones, said the operation was a huge success.
“As a result of this operation we believe we have been able to disrupt the activities of a significant drug and organised crime syndicate operating in our state,” he said.
“Operation Entity highlights the level of resources we are prepared to put into targeting this type of criminal activity and methods we can use to permanently dismantle these networks.”
