Noosa police: Inspector Ben Carroll speaks of time as shire’s top cop

The former officer in charge of Noosa Police has lifted the lid on his time in the affluent shire as he starts his new role as an Inspector in Rockhampton.

From an alleged cocaine trafficking ring to the enforcement of Covid-19 measures, the former officer in charge of Noosa police station has had a lively five years in the shire.

Noosa’s former top cop Inspector Ben Carroll has risen to his new rank in Rockhampton in 2022, relocating after serving for several years as Senior Sergeant in the affluent region.

In that time the seasoned cop assisted in disaster management during bushfires, enforced Covid restrictions during the pandemic and smashed an alleged drug ring operating in Noosa.

For Inspector Carroll, the criminal landscape of Noosa was vastly different from his former station in Rockhampton where he moved from in 2017.

Noosa Police Station former Officer-in-charge Inspector Ben Carroll.

“They were polar opposites … I was going into an affluent tourism town that was renowned as a premiere tourist destination from Rocky and Central QLD, where it was a more industrial and blue collar,” Inspector Carroll said.

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After his arrival Inspector Carroll saw how prevalent cocaine use had become in the area, especially in Noosa Heads.

In conjunction with the Noosa Criminal Investigation Branch and support from the state’s drug squad, Inspector Carroll and his station began a targeted approach to quash the alleged drug trade in his district.

Noosa Police former Officer-in-charge Ben Carroll, Member for Noosa Sandy Bolton, Noosa Deputy Mayor Frank Wilkie and former councillor Ingrid Jackson

Inspector Carroll said the investigation resulted in the seizure of $12,000 in illicit drugs, including cocaine, cannabis and steroids, and some $346,000 in property.

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Noosa detectives charged a total of 25 people on more than 100 charges following the operation, with their matters still going through the courts.

But it wasn’t all covert operations targeting the alleged supply of drugs into Noosa during Sergeant Carroll’s tenure.

Inspector Carroll and his station helped in response to the 2019 Noosa bushfires and also enforced Covid restrictions during the height of the pandemic.

Noosa’s former top cop has since moved from the region after being promoted to the rank of Inspector in Rockhampton earlier this year.

In his first week in Rockhampton Inspector Carroll was subject to a night where people deliberately drove at police, threw steel bars, and broke into dozens of homes.