Light plane drug bust: guns, cannabis and millions in cash seized across Brisbane
Fourteen men have been charged after a light plane was intercepted north of Brisbane with more than $1 million in cash on board, leading to 170kg of marijuana being uncovered, with a street value of more than $3.5 million.
The light aircraft left Melbourne and landed at Redcliffe Airport, outside Brisbane, around 2:00pm on Monday.
North Brisbane Criminal Investigation Branch Detective Senior Sergeant Ken Rogers said two people were inside the plane and were met on the tarmac by a third person, who had arrived in a four-wheel-drive.
āThe three men then stood on the tarmac and conducted what appeared to be a drug transaction,ā he said.
āIt was at that time that specialist units swooped, moved in, apprehended and took all three men into police custody.ā
Police said a search found about $1 million in cash contained in two boxes in the rear section of the plane.
Detectives also searched the 4WD and said they located five large sports bags containing cannabis in cryovac packaging, known as cannabis bricks, weighing about 120 kilograms, with an estimated street value of $3.5 million.
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Officers then carried out simultaneous raids on homes, business premises and several storage sheds across north Brisbane.
āThese raids yielded further drugs and more cash,ā Rogers said.
āThere was a further 50 kilos of cannabis seized from one of the storage sheds and in excess of $1.5 million in cash.ā
The bust is part of an 18-month-long operation, Operation Romeo Mugwort, which has resulted in a total of $8.5 million in cash, weapons, ammunition, cocaine and cannabis being seized.
So far, 14 men, aged between 25 and 60, have been arrested on 144 charges. Eight were charged with trafficking.
Queensland Police said the investigation covered Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory and investigations are continuing into links to Thailand.
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āIn relation to the origins of the drugs and where the cash is ending up, those investigations are still ongoing,ā Rogers said.
āItās probably fair to say that although this is a closure of one aspect of the investigation, this isnāt the end; itās in fact the beginning.ā
He described the alleged operation as a sophisticated drug network, with people using cypher phones and different modes of transport.
āThey used Redcliffe Airport, they also used Archerfield Airport and they also used vehicle transports as well,ā he said.
But police believe that, like everything, the pandemic disrupted the operation.
āThere was definitely a shift in their mode of transport and their choice of product,ā he said.
āThey were using aircraft and schedule-one drugs but then when we saw COVID hit, it sort of shifted more towards vehicle and cannabis.ā
He described the investigation as āparticularly difficultā and its completion was due largely to the tenacity and dedication of the investigative team.
āDrugs of this magnitude being taken off the streets of Queensland, and the ill-gotten gain taken out of the hands of these criminals, makes Queensland a safer place for us all to live in.ā
ā ABC / Emilie Gramenz
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