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Bikies grilled over drugs
December 6, 2004
MOTORCYCLE gang members, their lawyers and accountants are among the targets of
two Australian Crime Commission operations aimed at disrupting the amphetamine
trade in South Australia.
A key component of the operations is the use of coercive hearings at which
suspects, or those assisting them, are forced by law to answer questions and
surrender documents.
Numerous such hearings have been held in the commission's Currie St offices as
detectives move on major drug figures.
The hearings have provided vital evidence and intelligence on where money being
generated by the trade is being spent or hidden.
Commission chief executive officer Alastair Milroy said one of the two major
operations was focused specifically on amphetamines and other synthetic drugs,
while the second was an investigation into criminal networks.
While not revealing the identity of any of the operations' targets, he said the
intelligence operation aimed to "value add" to its analysis of the amphetamine
and designer drug environment in SA, while the second was directly aimed at
smashing criminal syndicates.
Almost a dozen detectives from South Australia's Drug and Organised Crime
Investigation Branch and the State Intelligence Branch have been seconded to the
commission for the operations.
Operations by Drug and Organised Crime detectives have resulted in the discovery
of 51 amphetamine laboratories in SA and record amounts of drugs and chemicals
used to make them.
Sources have revealed a major operation in August, in which 30 properties
throughout the metropolitan area were raided by the commission and local police,
was directly connected to the intelligence operation.
The raids, on premises including lawyers' offices and the homes of motorcycle
gang members, resulted in the seizure of computers, documents, $135,000 in cash,
two guns and a small quantity of cannabis.
At the time, police refused to reveal any details, other than that they were
targeting organised crime networks and gathering intelligence.
Mr Milroy said while it was not possible to estimate the volume of amphetamines
being manufactured, the main types were methylamphetamine "speed" and
crystalline methylamphetamine "ice".
"The emerging trends seem to point to smaller scale, cheaper and swifter
production techniques," he said.
"There are indications of an expansion of the market and the apparent
penetration by non-traditional amphetamine groups, such as South-East Asian
organised crime."
A major facet of the intelligence operation concerned the supply of precursor
chemicals used in the manufacturing process.
In one of the coercive hearings, an Adelaide man who legally has access to large
quantities of pseudoephedrine - a key precursor in amphetamine production - was
questioned over his links to people suspected of involvement in the trade.
Mr Milroy said it was "difficult" to put a precise figure on how many people
were involved in amphetamine production, because many criminal groups were
involved.
"The level of profitability associated with these commodities has attracted a
diverse range of organised crime networks of varying levels of sophistication
and a myriad of individuals involved in all levels of activity from production
to distribution," he said.
The Advertiser
~Road Scholars~
[OZ] Bikie gang lawyers grilled over drugs
Sun Dec 5, 2004 9:46am
207.69.91.86
Bikie gang lawyers grilled over drugs
By NIGEL HUNT
December 6, 2004
MOTORCYCLE gang members and the lawyers and accountants associated with them are
among the targets of two Australian Crime Commission operations aimed at
disrupting the amphetamine trade in South Australia.
A key component of the operations is the use of coercive hearings at which
suspects, or those assisting them, are forced by law to answer questions and
surrender documents. Numerous such hearings have been held in the commission's
Currie St offices as detectives move on major drug figures.
The hearings have provided vital evidence and intelligence on where money being
generated by the trade is being spent or hidden.
Commission chief executive officer Alastair Milroy said one of the two major
operations was focused specifically on amphetamines and other synthetic drugs,
while the second was an investigation into criminal networks.
While not revealing the identity of any of the operations' targets, he said the
intelligence operation aimed to "value add" to its analysis of the amphetamine
and designer drug environment in SA, while the second was directly aimed at
smashing criminal syndicates.
