Six people have been charged after police allegedly seized a national record haul of cannabis at a rural property in western New South Wales, with an estimated potential street value of nearly $67 million.
Detectives from Strike Force Harthouse executed a search warrant at a property in Dandry, about 35km north of Coonabarabran, at about 8am yesterday.
So far during the search, police have seized 19,082 cannabis plants, with an estimated potential street value of nearly $66.8 million, with the operation expected to continue over the coming days.
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Six people – five men and one woman – were arrested and taken to Dubbo and Coonabarabran Police Stations.
All six – aged between 23 and 42 – were charged with cultivate prohibited plant (large commercial quantity cannabis), knowingly take part cultivate (large commercial quantity cannabis) and participate criminal group contribute criminal activity.
They were all refused bail and will appear at Coonamble Local Court today.
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Investigators are working with the Department of Home Affairs regarding the visa status of the group.
Drug and Firearms Squad Commander Detective Superintendent John Watson said the alleged seizure of more than 19,000 cannabis plants - weighing about 11.5 tonnes in total - is believed to be a national record.
"About 90,000 square metres of land has been illegally cleared at this property to make way for more than 20 greenhouses containing cannabis plants at various stages of maturity," Superintendent Watson said.
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"A lot of money has been invested into the property, which we allege existed purely for cannabis cultivation.
"In terms of scale, this is one of the largest and most commercial cannabis enterprises we've seen – with significant infrastructure, including two large dams, commercial generators, earth moving equipment, across multiple sites, all of which require attention from workers seven days a week."
State Crime Commander Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said police continued to see organised crime groups exploit regional areas for cannabis cultivation as part of their business model.
"These types of operations have no regard for the environment or local community and are utilised by criminals only because the crop cycle for cannabis is relatively short – which can mean a quick source of revenue if successful," Assistant Commissioner Smith said.
"Make no mistake, if this operation was not dismantled, the cash sales from this crop would have flowed through poker machines of regional pubs, clubs and casinos across the state, then sent offshore or used to fund other criminal activities."
Investigations under Strike Force Harthouse are continuing.
