Source : Perth Now news
Two Vietnamese nationals have been arrested after police raided an alleged major cannabis crop house linked to a transnational organised crime syndicate.
Investigations led police to raid a safe house in Cairnlea, 17km northwest of Melbourne, in July 2024, where they seized 74kg of cannabis.
“Police became aware of a safe house in Cairnlea allegedly being used by a drug syndicate with transnational links,” a police spokesperson said.
A 41-year-old man was charged and bailed for trafficking a commercial quantity of cannabis, but he failed to appear in court – leading to a police manhunt.
On Thursday, VIPER Taskforce, Public Order Response Team and Dog Squad officers were tipped off to a crop house operating out of an address in Delahey, 20km northwest of Melbourne.
Police said they seized “approximately 1064 cannabis plants ranging from seedling to mature in size”. Footage released by police show the Vietnamese man being taken into custody, along with a 39-year-old Vietnamese woman who was also cuffed and led toward an unmarked police vehicle.
Major Drug Squad detective inspector Jamie Walker warned anyone involved in the production of illegal substances they can expect “a knock on the door”.
“Crop houses can often go undetected for long periods of time, which is evident due to the maturity and number of plants seized from this property,” he said.
“It’s for this reason that we ask residents to let us know if they suspect anything unusual at a neighbouring property.”
The man has been charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of cannabis, fail to appear and cultivate large commercial quantity of cannabis.
The woman was charged with cultivate large commercial quantity of cannabis.
Both were scheduled to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
