A major cannabis operation has been halted in its tracks after police on 22 January, 2020 resulting in $17 million worth of cannabis to be seized and later destroyed.
In the quite town of Grafton, about half way in between Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay, a large cannabis cultivation organisation set up shop.
The operation was on such a massive scale, they had 13 industrial sized grow houses setup up on the rural property. All filled to the brim with cannabis plants varying in age.
On the morning of January 22, it would all come crashing down. Detectives in the New South Wales police force, part of the Strike Force Harthouse operation, raided the property and put an end to their business.
5,200 cannabis plants were seized by police, netting a street value of around $15.6 million, along with around 200kg of cannabis ready to go, around $1.4 million on the street.
Along with the cannabis plants, 6 people were arrested, 5 men and 1 woman – all denied bail at Coffs Harbour Local Court.
According to the NSW Police, investigators are working with the Department of Home Affairs to determine the visa status of the group.
As such, we can make the assumption this is another operation conducted by Vietnamese, who’ve recently set up cannabis shops all around Australia. And using more than questionable cultivation methods to produce large quantities of cannabis, such as the dangerous PGR chemical to enhance its growth.
Detective Superintendent John Watson, the Drug and Firearms Squad Commander mentioned this was the second property in the area to be found housing large cannabis operations.
The grow houses were 60×20 metres in size and to neighbouring properties they may have appeared to be fruit crops. These arrests should send a strong message to criminals using regional NSW to grow cannabis crops that you will not go unnoticed
