Police raids in Canberra allegedly uncover meth, weapons, stolen property

Police say the drug trade in Canberra has taken a hit following 17 raids allegedly finding cash, drugs, weapons and stolen property, leading to the arrest of seven people.

A targeted operation by ACT Policing has resulted in seven arrests and property seizures, with firearms and other weapons, drugs, vehicles, and cash allegedly discovered during search warrants. Picture: ACT Policing

Seven people have been arrested in a targeted police operation with a significant amount of drugs, cash, firearms and property seized across a series of search warrants.

Police say Operation Kilcoy was ignited to investigate several leads following the arrest of Campsie man Jason Pakalani Tuiono on March 2 on drug and firearm charges.

Officers intercepted a car at Dickson on April 14 and during a search they allegedly found 9g of meth and two vials of GHB.

A 25-year-old O’Connor man was charged with trafficking a controlled drug other than cannabis and was remanded in custody. He will appear in court on June 19.

A 42-year-old woman was also arrested and charged with possession of a declared substance without authorisation, and granted bail. She is scheduled to appear in court on May 24.

Cash and drugs allegedly found during the raid. Picture: ACT Policing

Several weeks later Turner man Andrew Allan Kay was arrested during a cross-border police operation and was arrested and charged with five counts of unauthorised manufacture of firearms.

Over three days from May 8-10, police executed 17 search warrants across the ACT following these arrests. During the raids police allegedly discovered 45g of meth, worth an estimated street value of $31,000, GHB, 1kg of marijuana, firearms, crossbows, conductive energy weapons, ammunition and $14,600 in cash.

Meth allegedly discovered during the search warrants. Picture: ACT Policing

Throughout the search 16 stolen electric scooters, 10 stolen electric bikes, a Jeep utility, prescription pads, mobile phones, power tools and stolen prescription pads were seized.

Multiple clip seal bags of heroin, prescription medications, eight bottles of methadone and various other tables and steroids were also allegedly found.

A 15-year-old Belconnen girl who was the subject of a warrant was arrested and a 34-year-old Chisholm woman was arrested for breaching bail. They were both granted bail to appear in court at a later date.

A 41-year-old Turner woman was also arrested and is due to face the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with trafficking in a controlled substance other than cannabis, two counts of possession a prohibited weapon, and dealing with the suspected proceeds of indictable crime.

Stolen property allegedly found. Picture: ACT Policing

Gel blasters were also allegedly found. Picture: ACT Policing

During the investigation and the execution of the warrants, ACT Policing was supported by numerous external agencies including NSW Police, ACT Domestic Animal Services, and the RSPCA.

Detective Acting Inspector Sam Norman said the success of Operation Kilcoy showed the value of members of the public supplying information to police.

“All these arrests have come about after we investigated one criminal act reported by one person a few weeks ago,” Inspector Norman said.

“This job has really been like pulling at a thread, as more and more evidence of criminal activity came to light.

“Anyone who has been involved in these criminal enterprises who has not yet been arrested should prepare for a knock on their door soon.”