Forty arrested in Richmond police drug blitz
Police have pounced on several alleged drug traffickers and arrested more than 40 people during a crime blitz in Melbourne’s inner east.
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Police have pounced on several alleged drug traffickers and arrested more than 40 people during a crime blitz in Melbourne’s inner east.
Operation Apollo, which concluded on Sunday, saw additional officers from across the northwest metro region enlisted to help tackle the drug scourge plaguing the streets of Richmond. It comes just seven months after the state’s first supervised injecting room was opened in the suburb.
The two-week operation saw a highly visible police presence around drug hives such as Victoria St, with mounted police, K9 units and undercover detectives patrolling the area.
MAN ARRESTED FOR TRAFFICKING IN COP’S RICHMOND DRUG BLITZ
USERS OVERDOSE DAILY IN RICHMOND INJECTING ROOM
ADDICTS OPT OUT OF INJECTING ROOM
Between January 7 and January 20, five people were charged with trafficking illicit drugs — the majority of which was heroin. Officers also busted a crop house and charged a 45-year-old man with cultivating and trafficking cannabis.
Police said drug dealing and use in the area continued to be a concern and focus of police.
Yarra Local Area Commander Acting Inspector Trish Duke said Operation Apollo was just one aspect of Victoria Police’s wider commitment to reduce drug harm in the community. “Police have zero tolerance for drug traffickers and we will continue to prevent, detect and disrupt people who bring drugs into the community,” Acting Insp Duke said. “The only people who benefit from drugs are the criminals who peddle these substances.”
Despite the increased police presence, local residents said not enough was being done to tackle the wider drug problem in the area.
First National Real Estate chief executive Ray Ellis, whose office is in the heart of North Richmond, said the suburb was awash with street deals. Mr Ellis said the drug activity and associated crime had dramatically increased since the opening of the safe-injecting room in July last year.
“While it’s all well and good to have these operations, dealers aren’t dumb,” he said. “They will just delay their business for a fortnight or be a little less brazen while police are around.”
Mr Ellis said once the crackdown was over “life goes back to normal”.
Another local resident said he welcomed the efforts by police to target the drug crime, but that it did little to disrupt the roaring trade.
“Having police on horses for three days looks good, but it doesn’t do much,” he said.
“It’s all for show.”
The safe-injecting room trial will run until July 2020 when a decision is made on whether the program will continue.