Two St Albans men charged with possession of drugs and fake firearms
Two men have been charged after police allegedly uncovered fake guns, thousands in cash and several kilos of drugs at a St Albans home.
Wyndham Leader
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Two men have been charged after police allegedly discovered cash, drugs and fake guns at a St Albans home.
The VIPER task force allegedly found five imitation firearms, more than $10,000 cash, 2kg of cannabis as well as various quantities of what appeared to be ecstasy, methylamphetamine and LSD after searching the home on Thursday.
Members of the task force had been at the property executing a Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO) compliance search on a 29-year-old St Albans man, with the help of the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and the Dog Squad.
A 29-year-old St Albans man was charged with five counts of prohibited person firearm possession, dealing proceeds of crime, cocaine trafficking, possession of cannabis, committing indictable offence while on bail, contravening bail conditions and failing to notify FPO Registry of a change of address.
He was remanded overnight to appear at Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
A 28-year-old St Albans man was charged with possession and trafficking cannabis and possession of methylamphetamine.
He was bailed to appear at Sunshine Magistrates’ Court in July.
VIPER Task force detective Acting Inspector Warren Chapman said seizures of imitation firearms were taken seriously.
“Any firearm seizure is satisfying because it has an immediate impact on community safety,” he said.
“Imitation firearms are almost identical in appearance to legitimate firearms and are often used to commit serious criminal offences. These weapons are not harmless toys – we regularly see these items used in serious and violent crimes which can terrify victims.
“This result highlights the commitment of VIPER task force to ensuring these weapons can’t do any further damage to the community by taking them out of the hands of criminals.”
VIPER Task force is a tactical and investigative unit based within Crime Command focused on preventing, detecting, deterring, disrupting and dismantling the criminal activities of groups such as outlaw motorcycle gangs, organised crime networks and street gangs.
The task force, which started in July 2022, supports the work of specialist investigation units and regional police by providing further investigation tactics and enforcement actions.
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