Man with alleged organised crime links charged with trafficking $1m in cannabis
A man with alleged Albanian organised crime links has been charged with trafficking $1m in cannabis in the latest AFP arrest linked to the encrypted Ghost crime app.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A man accused of having Albanian organised crime links has been charged with trafficking $1m in cannabis after another bust related to the Ghost crime app.
The 36-year-old from Hillside has been charged with moving $1.2m in cannabis between Victoria and New South Wales.
He is the latest arrested by the Australian Federal Police as a result of intelligence seized from users of Ghost, a widely used encrypted communications platform cracked this week by law enforcement.
The Hillside man also faces counts of dealing in illicit cash.
The AFP said he was an alleged reseller of Ghost and that it had been used for communication between Albanian organised crime figures.
A statement from the AFP said investigators from operation Kraken had linked him to the seizure of $140,000 in illicit cash hidden in a vehicle on the Hume Highway on June 21.
He is also allegedly connected to the confiscation of 28kg of cannabis, $255,000 in illicit cash, and a Porsche Cayenne vehicle in New South Wales on August 15.
NSW Raptor Taskforce officers also arrested a Sydney man for his alleged
involvement in the seizure in August, 2024.
Members of the Victorian Joint Organised Crime Taskforce, which includes Victoria Police and AFP members, carried out three warrants on Tuesday at Hillside and Aintree.
They allegedly found 25kg of mature cannabis plants.
Officers from the JOCTF arrested the Hillside man and an Aintree man, 27.
The Hillside man has been charged with selling a marketable quantity of a controlled plant, one count of dealing with money suspected of being the proceeds of crime and one count of cultivating a controlled plant for a commercial purpose He faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court Tuesday where he was remanded to appear again next Monday.
Originally published as Man with alleged organised crime links charged with trafficking $1m in cannabis
Devastated relatives to sue over Daylesford pub crash ruling
Charges have been dismissed against a diabetic driver who killed five people when he ploughed into a Daylesford beer garden. The victims’ grieving relatives have hit out at the decision saying “there is zero justice”.
Hawks’ premiership star’s home has epic retro lounge room
Premiership winning Hawk Brad Sewell is selling a stunning bayside home with eye-catching features from an outdoor tub to a pool-wrapped sunken lounge. See how much its selling for.