Central Coast drug raids: Kim Virgin faces court on drug supply charges
The first two of 15 people who are collectively charged with more than 200 drug offences have faced court following police raids across the Central Coast.
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Two people have faced court following a series of eight simultaneous dawn raids across Gorokan, Lake Haven, Wamberal and Terrigal targeting the supply of prohibited drugs.
Kim Robert Virgin, 64, of Lake Haven, said nothing when he faced Wyong Local Court on Friday afternoon charged with four counts of supplying a prohibited drug.
The police prosecutor formally opposed bail telling the court Mr Virgin had served time in jail and on community correction orders for drug offences.
She said police had telephone intercepts and the charges involved the supply of methylamphetamine and heroin.
However his Legal Aid solicitor told the court it was a weak prosecution case, the phone was not registered to him and given the nature of the allegations — and the number of co-accuseds — it would likely be a significant delay before he goes to trial.
The magistrate said he was satisfied any risks to the community could be mitigated by strict conditions and granted Mr Virgin bail. The matter was adjourned to August 26.
Stephanie McPhail, 33, of The Entrance, was the next to appear charged with 32 offences involving supplying drugs and participating in a criminal group.
The court heard she had been intercepted on phone calls and text messages allegedly supplying methylamphetamine on “50 occasions” and GBH on “15 occasions.
The prosecutor said in Ms McPhail’s case the phone used was registered to her and she was recorded telling someone she had been stopped by police and an amount of drugs confiscated, which allegedly confirmed her as being the person using the phone.
Her Legal Aid solicitor told the court she had only recently returned from three weeks in residential rehab in Sydney and could live with her father at Killarney Vale.
He said the police facts allege she and a few other co-accuseds lived at a house on Torrens Ave, at The Entrance, and “used that premises to supply drugs”.
He said removing her from that house and a non-association order could mitigate any risk of further offending.
However the magistrate refused her bail and adjourned the matter to September 22.
A further 13 people charged with more than 200 offences will face bail court at Newcastle on Saturday.
It comes as police allege they have dismantled a “significant” drug network on the Central Coast stretching from Gorokan to Terrigal, which police believe will put a serious dent in the short term availability of drugs.
In February 2020 officers from the Tuggerah Lakes Proactive Crime Team established Strike Force Harle to investigate the distribution of illicit drugs and in particular methylamphetamine.
Police conducted a series of eight simultaneous dawn raids on properties on Friday, July 31, with 15 people — eight men and seven women — arrested and charged with more than 250 offences.
Police allege they seized drugs including methylamphetamine, GHB, cocaine, MDMA and cannabis with an estimated street value of nearly $250,000.
Police also located more than $210,000 cash.
Superintendent John Gralton said the arrests were the culmination of six months hard work.
“At this point (revealed earlier in the day) nine people have been arrested and charged with in excess of 250 charges,” he said.
“This strike force has really driven a wedge into the drug milieu operating across the Central Coast and we targeted the drug ice for a reason. Ice is an insidious drug and causes families to be ripped apart, communities to be ripped apart and it’s really, really bad for individuals themselves.
“We’ve seized a kilogram of ice at this stage, still to be confirmed by our laboratories and 1.5L of GBH as well as half a kilo of cocaine.”
Supt Gralton said the arrests were expected to lead to a drop in some property crime given this network has been arrested.
He said the nine people charged (before later becoming 15) included men and women ranging in age from early 20s to “elderly people” with raids taking place at Gorokan, Lake Haven, Wamberal and Terrigal.
“This network were operating in cahoots and we’ve been able to dismantle this pretty significant drug distribution network,” he said.
Supt Gralton said police were still collating how much drugs and cash were found in the raids and what other “contraband” may have also been seized for further investigation.
With criminal networks finding it more difficult to import drugs into Australia following the COVID-19 pandemic these arrests are likely to have a significant impact on the short term supply on the coast.
“There has been a bit of a downturn in the availability in some aspects of drugs and even some price hikes I’m led to believe, so there’s probably less drugs being imported but again I can’t really comment on that because I’m not across it to the full degree,” he said.
Investigations are continuing and Supt Gralton did not rule out further arrests.
He also asked if anyone had information and wanted to “dob in a drug dealer” to call Crimestoppers.