NewsBite

‘Baptism of fire’: new Gayndah sergeant’s drug crop raid

Alleged marijuana grower thought they had found the perfect hiding place. They hadn’t.

Gayndah Police Station sergeant Don Auld with marijuana plants seized as part of Operation Valkyrie on November 13, 2019. Photo: Alex Treacy
Gayndah Police Station sergeant Don Auld with marijuana plants seized as part of Operation Valkyrie on November 13, 2019. Photo: Alex Treacy

GAYNDAH police expect to lay charges after a search warrant executed yesterday uncovered 16 marijuana plants hidden among tomato plants.

Sergeant Don Auld said it was a "poor attempt to disguise" the marijuana and police were not fooled by the manoeuvre.

He said the illegal plants had grown to about shoulder-height and said they were "at least a couple of months old".

The search warrant was executed as part of Operation Valkyrie in conjunction with the Wide Bay Tactical Crime Squad.

Aside from the 16 marijuana plants, the search warrant uncovered 16 items within the house that were connected with the smoking of a dangerous drug.

Sgt Auld was not prepared to reveal an age or gender of the person or people located at the address and said inquiries are ongoing.

Sgt Auld, who arrived in Gayndah from Ingham about three weeks ago, described it as a "baptism of fire" adjusting to the level of illegal drug use in the community and their flow-on effects, both to the user and to friends and family.

Asked if there was any specific strategy Gayndah police could enact to combat the activity, Sgt Auld said, "All I can offer is to do our best".

"Getting rid of drugs takes the whole community to fix, not just three police officers," he said.

"There needs to be an attitude change in the community.

"How do we do that?

"They (drug users) don't see the problem."

Originally published as

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/central-and-north-burnett/police-courts/poorly-hidden-plants-dont-fool-burnett-police/news-story/ced1833bea6c334006f351d721fbaef3