Geelong’s cannabis hot spots uncovered
Is your suburb a hotbed for cannabis-related crime? Here’s where authorities are heading to most to dismantle crop houses often linked to dangerous crime syndicates.
Geelong
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Thousands of cannabis plants have been seized by police in recent years as they try to dismantle the region’s growing industry.
Police say the “gateway drug” continues to have a “devastating effect” on the region.
Geelong Divisional Response Unit Detective Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Pucar said grow houses were often connected to wider criminal networks and were used by offenders as an easy way to boost cash flow.
Specialist detectives have raided two alleged crop houses this month alone, with about 1800 plants seized.
New data obtained by the Geelong Advertiser shows Corio is Greater Geelong’s marijuana hotspot, with 52 cannabis possession offences and two cannabis trafficking offences recorded from March 2017-22.
The data, provided by the Crime Statistics Agency, shows Norlane (41), Geelong (36), North Geelong (14), Bell Park (10), Geelong West (10), Belmont (9) and Torquay (8) had the next highest number of possession offences.
Sergeant Pucar said police were determined to stop the cultivation and distribution of illegal drugs.
“Police are intent on disrupting the cultivation or manufacturing of illicit drugs in the Geelong region, including cannabis crop houses,” Sergeant Pucar said.
Police raided an alleged grow house at Waurn Ponds on August 1. Officers said the set-up was uncovered during a raid.
Police said they seized more than 200 cannabis plants from several rooms of the Rossack Drive property.
On August 15, detectives allegedly uncovered a “significant cannabis grow house” during a raid at Moolap.
Police said they seized more than 1600 cannabis plants from greenhouses located at the property on Wellington Street.
Investigations into both alleged crop houses are ongoing.
“Considered a gateway drug by some, cannabis is not only extremely harmful to users, but also has a devastating impact on the wider community – from drug-affected driving to other risk-taking behaviour endangering the safety of others,” Sergeant Pucar said.
“We also know that crop houses are often linked to wider criminal networks that are looking to boost their coffers to fund further offending in our community.”
Sergeant Pucar said crop houses also posed a safety risk due to overuse of power.
“Crop houses also pose a significant community safety risk themselves, with a number of well-documented instances of fires in homes that were growing hydroponic cannabis crops,” he said.
“We are regularly targeting crop houses through various intelligence means, including regular engagement with energy authorities about abnormalities in the power network and, most importantly, reports of suspicious behaviour from the community.
“We implore the community to be vigilant and recognise the signs of a crop house, including plastic or additional coverings on windows, lights on all the time, tenants never sighted, a strong smell and loud electrical wiring.”
Any suspicious activity should be reported to Crime Stoppers immediately by calling 1300 333 000 or by making an anonymous report through www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
SOME OF GEELONG’S LATEST CANNABIS OFFENDERS
Vince Ficarra
The 59-year-old grandfather recently appeared at the Geelong Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to trafficking a drug of dependence and two counts of assault.
The court heard police suspected Ficarra was trafficking drugs in 2020 and started watching his Geelong West home.
Officers reported seeing people visiting the house on 66 different occasions.
A few months later, in November 2020, police raided the home and found three grams of cannabis, deal bags, digital scales and $2437 in cash on a coffee table and inside his wallet.
Vebi Nuredini
A Lara man built a sophisticated system to traffic in large amounts of cannabis over a five-year period, a court has heard.
Vebi Nuredini, 63, appeared at the Geelong Magistrates’ Court recently and pleaded guilty to trafficking in a drug of dependence, being cannabis.
In March last year, police showed up to Nuredini’s rural Lara property and found a series of sheds that had been padlocked.
Officers forced entry into one of the sheds and found 11 cannabis plants in individual pots standing 1.2m tall.
Bradley Gill
A former Norlane man caught with more than 130 kgs of cannabis pleaded guilty to commercial cultivation but says the crop was for personal use.
Police swooped on Bradley Gill’s Waitara Grove, Norlane home in March last year and found 12 cannabis plants in his backyard, some which had grown 2.5 metres tall.
The County Court heard some plants had grown so large they were propped up with steel stakes.
Ryan Armstrong
A drug dealer who was caught growing more than 100 cannabis plants at his Teesdale home was jailed in December last year
Ryan Armstrong, 28, was busted when police raided his rental property on Bannockburn-Shelford Rd.
The County Court heard the raid netted 130 plants, weighing a combined 10.25kg, along with a further 745g of loose cannabis that Armstrong was preparing to sell.
Armstrong was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison, with a non-parole period of 16 months.
GEELONG’S HIGHEST-PROFILE MARIJUANA CROP BUSTS
Adam Fergusson
A fallen motorcycle champion was jailed in September 2020 for growing more than 100kg of cannabis inside his Geelong rental home.
Adam Fergusson, 45, was sentenced at the County Court to a prison term of four years and nine months, with a minimum of two years and 10 months.
In May 2019, police raided a Corio home that the former racing star was sharing with his then-partner.
Detectives uncovered a sophisticated hydroponic set-up inside the Browallia Drive property, with the operation spanning a garage and three rooms of the house.
Mega $6m Lara bust
A $6 million hydroponic drug crop with bikie gang links was discovered at Lara in May 2012.
An estimated 1500 cannabis plants, at various stages of growth, were uncovered during a raid on a Forest Rd North property, the culmination of a three-month investigation.
“It’s a very sophisticated set-up, the largest I’ve ever seen,’’ Victoria Police Acting Inspector David De Francesco said at the time.
There were so many cannabis plants that the truck police had brought to the property to remove it could not hold the entire haul.
It is one of the biggest busts for any drug in Geelong crime history.
Vietnamese migrants jailed for cropsitting
Two Vietnamese migrants were jailed yesterday after being caught cropsitting a thriving cannabis operation worth about $1 million in a North Geelong factory.
The industrial site in Kim Court was disguised as a legal, working warehouse when police raided
But when the officers looked deeper inside they found six rooms with established hydroponic setups, powered by electricity bypasses.In those rooms they found 337 cannabis plants, with a total weight of almost 64kg
Hoc Thai Nguyen and Van Thanh Nguyen were caught attempting to flee and were later found guilty of cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis.
Originally published as Geelong’s cannabis hot spots uncovered
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