Townsville police to dig deeper after $2.6m meth bust during Operation Whiskey Legion

A massive $2.6m worth of meth has been taken off Townsville streets during an intense eight-day police blitz. But cops say this is just the beginning, with more arrests expected to follow.

A massive $2.6 million worth of methamphetamine has been taken off the streets of Townsville following an intense eight-day police operation.

Operation Whiskey Legion, which recently wrapped up, resulted in 188 adults being arrested on 367 charges, along with 20 young people facing 64 offences.

The crackdown delivered a serious blow to the local drug market, with Townsville police removing a significant amount of methylamphetamine from circulation.

One of the largest busts came last Thursday when police arrested a 46-year-old man in the car park of Castletown shopping centre.

Officers allegedly found 1 kilogram of meth in his possession.

Just two days later, a 30-year-old man was arrested after police seized an additional 1.6 kilograms of meth from a residence in Cluden.

Superintendent Dean Cavanagh praised the officers’ efforts, stating that the drugs seized during the operation would have had an estimated total street value of around $2.6 million.

“It’s a significant amount of illicit drugs off the street, and in turn, will reduce the harm considerably for this community,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon and Superintendent Dean Cavanagh

He emphasised the continuous work being done in the background to address these problems, saying, “We know the symptoms, the anti-social behaviour and the crime that flow on from drug offences.”

While the initial operation has concluded, Superintendent Cavanagh confirmed that more arrests are expected as investigators dig deeper into the drug trade’s organised crime networks.

“We don’t just take those drugs off the street and stop there,” he said.

“Our major organised crime groups will continue this investigation now to try and reach into any aspect of this drug trade, and I’m very confident the arrests will continue.”

Originally published as Townsville police to dig deeper after $2.6m meth bust during Operation Whiskey Legion