Revealed: The movements of drug dealers and traffickers in Bendigo

Bendigo police are cracking down on drug dealers, with a top cop promising they “will be held to account” no matter where they are. Find out where the drug dealers are in your neighbourhood. 

Every year, police kick down doors and shut down drug dealers, yet Bendigo’s illicit drug trade seems to play a never-ending game of cat and mouse, shifting its operations to evade law enforcement.

According to recent data, drug trafficking offences in Bendigo have hit a 10-year low, a stark contrast from the high recorded in 2020.

However, the battle against drugs remains relentless, with Acting Inspector Michael Welsh emphasising the ongoing efforts to combat organised crime across the state.

“Organised crime entities thinking they can operate freely in rural parts of the state should think again – you will be held to account no matter where you are from,” he said, highlighting the commitment of detectives and specialist units to dismantle drug syndicates operating within Bendigo.

Over the past year, several successful police operations in Greater Bendigo have led to the shutdown of sophisticated drug trafficking operations.

In September, Bendigo Divisional Response Unit officers, aided by specialised units, arrested and charged a 47-year-old man after allegedly seizing a clandestine laboratory, drugs, a stolen motorcycle, and a firearm at Golden Square.

Similarly, in January of the previous year, two women were arrested following a four-month investigation into drug trafficking, resulting in the alleged seizure of cash, methamphetamine, liquid believed to be GHB, and other illicit items as part of Operation Possum.

Both cases remain before the courts.

Despite these efforts, the challenge of combating drug crime persists.

Criminologist Nicole Ryan pointed out the phenomenon of the “displacement effect,” wherein successful targeting of drug crime in one area leads to its relocation to another.

“It essentially shifts the crime from one area to another,” she said.

“So if police start targeting an area, the risk of being caught in that area goes up so criminals will look for another area with lower risk.”

Dr Ryan also highlighted the possibility of drug dealers shifting to different types of crimes during periods of heightened police scrutiny.

Of the 96,587 offenders prosecuted by police across Victoria in 2020-21 — the last year for which Australian Bureau of Statistics data is available — 5 per cent were related to illicit drugs.

More than 90 per cent of those cases ended with findings of guilt.

In 2020 — the height of Bendigo’s drug trade — anti-bikie cops raided a drug den set up in the heart of a Bendigo family’s home, uncovering $12,550 in cash and a small arsenal of weapons.

Troy Cain, 37, pleaded guilty to trafficking methylamphetamine following the raid and was sentenced to an 18 month corrections order.

He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid community work.

Also caught in 2020, Kyle Newby was found with a collection of drugs to rival a small pharmacy.

Kyle Newby

Newbie was sentenced to two months prison, and an 18-month community corrections order.

Just the next year, a Bendigo drug dealer claimed 50g of methamphetamines — 17 times the trafficking threshold — was for personal use after he was tackled to the ground in front of family.

In Bendigo Magistrates Court Joshua Taylor pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, theft and weapons charges. Picture: Facebook

Joshua Taylor and police were caught in a 15-month game of cat and mouse, involving more than $20,000 in cash, three raids, two car crashes and multiple chases through Bendigo.

The 25-year-old father pleaded guilty to a raft of charges and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Brandon Knight.

And Bendigo dealer Brandon Knight was sent to jail for more than six years after he pleaded guilty to a litany of weapons, drugs and violence charges.

A police raid on Knight’s house uncovered $50,000 worth of methamphetamine, $21,400 in cash, illegal ammunition, mobile phones with messages about drug sales, and a gun in the footwell of his car.

Acting Inspector Welsh urged anyone in the Bendigo community with information around drug trafficking to contact police or make a report to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.