Two men charged after detectives seize illicit drugs and cash worth $700k
Two men will face court today charged with large commercial drug supply after the Organised Crime Squad seized more than $450,000 worth of drugs and $250,000 cash.
Two Sydney men are accused of running a one-stop shop for almost every drug under the sun, including 8500 tabs of LSD, cannabis, MDMA, magic mushrooms, ice, ketamine and even Xanax.
Police allege Carlton man Adam Khodr, 30, intended to supply 2000 LSD tabs when he was arrested on Wright St, Hurstville at 9.20am on Tuesday.
A subsequent search warrant at his Carlton home allegedly uncovered $450,000 of drugs and $259,200 in cash, according to court documents.
Khodr appeared at Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday charged with 14 counts of supplying drugs between November 22 last year and January 22, when he was arrested.
Khodr was refused bail by Magistrate Jayeann Carney and will return to court via audiovisual link on January 30.
Court documents reveal Khodr is charged with supplying commercial quantities of Lysergide, or LSD, on eight occasions in Hurstville and Ashfield.
Khodr is also accused of allegedly supplying commercial quantities of MDMA, cannabis, psilocybin or magic mushrooms, and ketamine, in addition to amounts of cannabis, cocaine and methylamphetamine or ice.
A 25-year-old Ashfield man, Cameron Murphy, has also been charged with three counts of large commercial drug supply and indictable drug supply.
In September 2018, detectives from the State Crime Command’s Organised Crime Squad and officers from the NSW Crime Commission established Strike Force Burrebury to investigate the supply of illicit drugs across Sydney.
During the investigation, police seized 8500 tabs of lysergic acid (LSD).
The total estimated potential street value of the drugs seized throughout the investigation is more than $450,000.
Investigators later arrested Murphy at a business on Coal Pier Rd in Banksmeadow and took him to Mascot police station.
He was charged with three counts of large commercial drug supply and indictable drug supply and was formally refused bail at Central Local Court on Wednesday as the matter was adjourned to March 21.
Organised Crime Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Tony Cooke, said the variety and quantities of illicit drugs seized was of concern to police.
“While we are pleased with yesterday’s result, we know the community still has a long way to go in addressing the issue of demand,” Det Supt Cooke said.
“The Organised Crime Squad and the entire NSW Police Force is focused on working with our partners – both in Australia and abroad – on targeting the criminal networks who import, manufacture, and supply these poisons for profit.
“And that’s an important point; illicit drugs are poison. Each of the substances we seized has potential to kill – and when mixed together in any combination, the risk of death increases dramatically.
“As a community, we need to band together to break the cycle of addiction and change the perception of ‘safe’ use or ‘party’ drugs – neither of these descriptions are even close to the truth.
“In actual fact, these myths were created by those who are peddling the drugs and profiting from users’ misery,” Det Supt Cooke said.
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