Police seized large quantities of cash, drugs and property during a massive operation targeting drug supply in Griffith on Friday.
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Five men and one woman will face Griffith Local Court on Wednesday after police raided eight separate properties including West Griffith Service Centre.
Another 15 people will appear in court on July 20 over the matter.
Shortly after 10am more than 100 police from across the southern region, including specialist units from as far away as Lake Illawarra, descended on the area for the operation. The raids occurred at commercial, residential and farm premises in Griffith and Tharbogang.
At the time of printing, 21 arrests had been made and charges ranging from drug supply, ongoing drug supply, possession of indictable quantities of drugs, receiving stolen goods and disposing of stolen goods had been laid.
Officers believed to be from the State Protections Support Unit (SPSU), the regionally-based arm of the Tactical Operations Unit, were seen during the raid on West Griffith Service Centre, next to West End Service Station.
Griffith Local Area Commander, Superintendant Michael Rowan, said while the operational phase was complete, officers were now conducting further inquires and expected to make more arrests and lay further charges.
“There are two aspects to the drug trade,” Superintendent Rowan said. “Firstly the health issue for the user, and secondly the criminality of the suppliers. This operation has had a positive outcome for our community and we will continue to achieve results that stop the illegal drug trade within our society.”
A man who lived near West Griffith Service Centre said he saw police unload two Styrofoam boxes of bags, appearing to contain cannabis, from a silver four-wheel drive. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said the bags were ‘tagged’ and then loaded into a police car.
Police urged anyone with information in relation to the incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au/
They reminded the public not to report crime information via their social media pages and assured all information provided will be in the strictest of confidences.