Police Minister Paul Toole’s brother Joshua charged in Newcastle drug bust

Dramatic vision has captured the moment NSW Police Minister Paul Toole’s brother was arrested following a six-month investigation.

One of Police Minister Paul Toole’s brothers has been arrested and charged over his alleged involvement in a large drug supply syndicate, just days after another sibling was put behind bars on unrelated charges.

Joshua Toole, 38, was among a group of four arrested and charged in Newcastle and on the Central Coast on Wednesday following a six-month investigation into the supply of meth by the Drug and Firearms Squad.

The Daily Telegraph understands Joshua spent last night at Belmont Police Station ahead of a court appearance on Thursday.

“I am devastated … But we are not the first family to have to deal with this and unfortunately we won’t be the last,” Paul Toole told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.

“No one is above the law.”

Police Minister Paul Toole. Picture: Monique Harmer

Joshua Toole, 38, is the brother of Police Minister Paul Toole, spent time in jail for drug supply. Picture: Facebook

Joshua and a 24-year-old woman were arrested in a vehicle stop at Killarney Vale about 9am by officers attached to Strike Force Great.

Investigators then carried out search warrants in Belmont North, Nords Wharf and Wadalba, locating and seizing two kilograms of methylamphetamine – with an estimated potential street value of $2 million – $220,000 in cash, a gel-blaster firearm, electronic devices and other items relevant to the investigation.

About two kilos of meth were seized during the raid. Picture: NSW Police

The drugs have an estimated street value of two million dollars. Picture: NSW Police

Around the same time a 43-year-old man was arrested at a Belmont North home and a 42-year-old man at a workplace in Wyong.

They were taken to Belmont Police Station and Wyong Police Station respectively where they were individually charged with a string of offences including those relating to commercial drug supply.

Police confirmed a 38-year-old Belmont North man had been charged with supplying large commercial quantity of prohibited drug, knowingly direct activities of criminal group, participating criminal group contributing to criminal activity, and five counts of suppling prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis.

Joshua Toole’s arrest caps off a tough period for the Deputy Premier and his family, after his younger brother Kurt Toole pleaded guilty to drug supply and affray charges last Wednesday.

Four people were charged after raids targeting illicit drug supply in Central Coast and Newcastle. Picture: NSW Police

Those charged include three men and one woman. Picture: NSW Police

Stashes of $50 notes amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars were found. Picture: NSW Police

The 32-year-old faced Bathurst Local Court where he was told a custodial term was inevitable, before being put behind bars ahead of a return for formal sentencing at a later date.

Kurt has previously served a sentence of seven years imprisonment for his role in a major drug syndicate that supplied cannabis and methamphetamine around the Newcastle area, and was out on parole at the time of the offences he has now pleaded guilty to.

After taking over the mantle as Police Minister earlier this year, Mr Toole spoke openly about his family and Kurt’s run-ins with the law.

“People make mistakes and sadly, I’m not going to be the last family that has to deal with the outcomes of people making mistakes,” the father-of-three said.

“There’s no place for that, no one is above the law.”