More than 19,000 cannabis plants – worth almost $67 million – have been seized from a rural property in western NSW, in what police believe is Australia’s biggest weed bust.
Drug and Firearms Squad detectives, beat officers and police dogs descended on a property at the Newell Highway in Dandry, near Coonabarabran, on Tuesday morning.
What they found was one of the biggest illegal cannabis farms they’d ever seen.
“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,” Drug and Firearms Squad Commander John Watson said.
“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.”
The operation is continuing, but police have so far seized 19,082 cannabis plants, with an estimated potential street value of nearly $66.8 million.
Detective Superintendent Watson says police believe the seizure to be a national record.
Six people, five men and one woman, were arrested and charged with cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis and participating in a criminal group.
All six, aged between 23 and 42, were refused bail to appear at Coonamble Local Court on Wednesday.
Investigators are working with the Department of Home Affairs regarding the visa status of the…
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More than 19,000 cannabis plants – worth almost $67 million – have been seized from a rural property in western NSW, in what police believe is Australia’s biggest weed bust.
Drug and Firearms Squad detectives, beat officers and police dogs descended on a property at the Newell Highway in Dandry, near Coonabarabran, on Tuesday morning.
What they found was one of the biggest illegal cannabis farms they’d ever seen.
“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,” Drug and Firearms Squad Commander John Watson said.
“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.”
The operation is continuing, but police have so far seized 19,082 cannabis plants, with an estimated potential street value of nearly $66.8 million.
Detective Superintendent Watson says police believe the seizure to be a national record.
Six people, five men and one woman, were arrested and charged with cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis and participating in a criminal group.
All six, aged between 23 and 42, were refused bail to appear at Coonamble Local Court on Wednesday.
Investigators are working with the Department of Home Affairs regarding the visa status of the…
