Gatton police bust man trying to leave lockdown area with packed camper van and trailer

A 20 year-old has also been fined for bringing a mate back from the north coast into the lockdown area.

Senior Sergeant Rowland Browne at Gatton Police Station.

A Gatton man who packed his camper van and trailer to attend a show near Gladstone was on Wednesday morning slapped with a $1378 fine.

Officers intercepted the man this morning ahead of his 500km journey north out of the south east Queensland lockdown zone.

Gatton police officer-in-charge Rowland Browne wasn’t impressed with the man’s actions.

“I don’t know what to say about that,” Senior Sergeant Browne said.

“Some people are confused, but generally, if you listen to the guidelines and you think it’s wrong, it probably is.

“Nearly everyone is doing the right thing and behaving with common sense.”

The fine comes as an additional 19 people tested positive to coronavirus on Wednesday, 16 of which are linked to the Indooroopilly cluster.

It’s not the first fine Gatton officers have issued in the past 24 hours.

Lockdown Protest

A 20-year-old man who went on a trip to the north coast to collect a friend and bring him back into the quarantine area without good reason was also fined $1378 by police.

Sergeant Browne said the man was also charge with carrying a knife in public and possessing suspected stolen property.

The person collected was charged with four counts of burglary, two counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle and receiving tainted property – all of which allegedly occurred in the north coast region.

The passenger was remanded in custody to the Ipswich Children’s Court.

Sergeant Browne said officers were also monitoring business compliance and investigating people leaving the lockdown area.

He said he understood both Toowoomba and Warwick officers had increased patrols regarding people travelling outside the lockdown area.

“Our Covid enforcement is primarily education-based, although enforcement is an option we seriously consider if people refuse to comply, if they are deliberately ignoring the rules or keep offending,” he said.

Officer in charge senior sergeant Rowland Browne. PHOTO: ALI KUCHEL

“We have given out masks when required and provided advice on the street, telephone and counter.

“Being a rural area, we take a common sense-approach to things like the 10km rule to allow for extra distances.”

Officers issued four $1378 fines to a group of people who visited a unit without a reasonable excuse.

From that instance, a 38-year-old was also charged with unlicensed driving and possessing dangerous drugs, while a 22-year-old man was charged with two drug offences.

In a separate incident, a woman was issued a fine for failing to wear a mask, which followed a warning the woman received when out and about on the Warrego Highway at midnight.

She was fined $206.