Police arrest 14 men in suspected drug syndicate in Melbourne’s southeast
Police have swooped to arrest fourteen people suspected of operating a major drug syndicate in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs after a 12-month investigation.
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Police have busted a major drug syndicate with links to Israeli organised crime in Melbourne’s affluent southeastern suburbs.
Victoria Police swooped to arrest 14 people suspected of operating the cocaine and ice ring during a series of raids on Saturday morning.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal several of the people arrested are believed to have links with Israeli organised crime in Melbourne.
“It was fairly brazen drug trafficking,” a source said.
“These ones are younger and more brazen. Like all better organised crime groups, the Israeli organised crime usually stay under the radar but there are some serious players here.”
An intensive 12-month investigation, dubbed Operation Brandish, came to a head as alleged members of the syndicate were taken into custody.
Police executed warrants on 13 properties in South Melbourne, Brighton East, Elwood, St Kilda and Ormond.
Investigators were on Saturday night interviewing the men and a woman, who range in age from 24 to 44.
Items seized included commercial quantities of methylamphetamine and cocaine and significant quantities of GHB and cannabis. A loaded gun was found along with precursor chemicals and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.
The highly trained Special Operations Group took part in the raids.
Superintendent Sharon McKinnon said police were committed to investigating and arresting those involved in organised crime and drug trafficking.
“Operation Brandish has been a complex 12-month investigation and those involved have done some incredible work to dismantle this syndicate,” Ms McKinnon said.
“Drugs offences are a key focus for Victoria Police right across the organisation and we have zero tolerance for those bringing harm to our community by trafficking drugs of any type.
“Organised criminals work against everything that is good about our community and are profiting through the exploitation of people who are vulnerable to drug taking and drug addiction.
“We want to reassure the community that Victoria Police will continue to work tirelessly to detect and disrupt this kind of serious offending in our community. The work doesn’t stop with these arrests and we will look to chase up every avenue of inquiry …”
Police units involved in the raids included southern metro divisional response unit, southern metro crime team, detectives from various crime investigation units, clan labs unit, the dog squad and general duties police. The investigation is ongoing.