Brendan John Casey, Jared Kenneth Brooks charged with drug trafficking after Ilkley police raid

Key details of how Sunshine Coast detectives shut down an alleged major hinterland drug trafficking ring can be revealed for the first time. Here’s how they did it.

A secret informant was allegedly able to help Sunshine Coast detectives shut down a major drug trafficking operation, court documents can reveal.

The Sunshine Coast Criminal Investigation Branch raided a heavily fortified rural property on Ilkley Rd, Ilkley, on July 20, 2022.

Police allege detectives found $60,000 in cash, a large amount of meth, other drug related items and stolen property.

Four people have since been arrested as part of the four-month police operation, including 49-year-old Brenden John Casey and 31-year-old Jared Kenneth Brooks.

Both men have been charged with trafficking and possessing a dangerous drug, while Casey is also charged with supplying a dangerous drug.

Court documents sighted by the Sunshine Coast Daily allege the two Ilkley men, who lived on the 4ha property, operated a sophisticated drug trafficking operation.

Brenden John Casey, 49, is charged with drug trafficking and supplying.

Police allege Casey would sell the drugs to “an extended network of customers across the greater Sunshine Coast district”.

Court documents state police worked with an informant to gather evidence about the sophisticated drug set-up.

The informant had allegedly purchased drugs weekly from Casey, who would sell an ounce “at a price that fluctuated between $6,000 to $10,000 per ounce”.

Police allege the informant had on multiple occasions seen Casey in possession of kilogram packs of methamphetamines at the Ilkley address.

Police at an Ilkley Rd property in Ilkley on July 20, 2022. Picture: Sam Turner

Court documents state Casey was sourcing methamphetamine for $90,000 a kilogram.

But the informant told police that “at the peak of the Covid period, Casey was paying up to $600,000 for a kilo of methamphetamine which reflected a price increase when onselling the drugs to others within the network”, according to court documents.

Casey was allegedly supplying methamphetamine in quantities upwards of a quarter ounce for $2500.

The entire operation was allegedly based from the Ilkley property, where Casey had allegedly hidden the drugs in various locations across the property.

Jared Kenneth Brooks, 31, charged with trafficking dangerous drugs and other drug offences following a raid on an Ilkley property. Picture: Social media

Court documents state Brooks would help Casey when customers arrived at the property by fetching the drugs from the hidden locations.

“If the transaction was for larger quantity of drugs, Casey would get Brooks to put a drone camera up in the air to check if any police were around the area before collecting the drugs,” court documents state.

“If customers attended the address when Brooks was not there, Casey would make them leave and come back.

“The (informant) states that Casey wouldn’t do any of the work and Brooks would have to do everything.”

During the raid, police allegedly found items “consistent with a clandestine drug laboratory”.

Police at an Ilkley Rd property in Ilkley on July 20, 2022. Picture: Sam Turner

Both Casey and Brooks have been refused bail and will face Maroochydore Magistrates Court on September 30, 2022.

Bradley Ernest Hardy, 51, and Jodie Leanne Herrmann, 39, were also arrested on July 20, 2022 during the alleged drug raid.

Both were granted watch house bail and are set to appear before Maroochydore Magistrates Court on August 28 and August 30, respectively, to face drug possession charges.

Operation Uniform Canterbury began in March, 2022 following an investigation into the alleged trafficking of meth and marijuana on the Sunshine Coast.