Busted at the airport

A 16-year-old girl and her 17-year-old boyfriend were greeted by an unexpected reception committee when they arrived at Nhulunbuy airport on a flight from Darwin _ police sniffer dogs Scent and Monte.

The dogs searched the luggage of arriving passengers and detected 130g of cannabis concealed in the girl's luggage _ wrapped in a Christmas present for her mum.

The juveniles were arrested and charged by Nhulunbuy police. Scent and Monte were in action outside Darwin for the first time.

Major and Organised Crime Unit Commander George Owen said the successful operation sent a strong message to all remote communities that drug dealers cannot operate with impunity.

``In just one month, the drug-dog unit has been highly successful in a number of operations,'' he said.

``They have proven themselves in a wide range of conditions and this was more proof that they will be invaluable in their major mission _ to reduce the flow of drugs to remote communities.''

The dogs were flown to Nhulunbuy with members of the Remote Area Drug Desk in response to a request for help from Nhulunbuy police.

The dogs arrived in the East Arnhem town at 10am _ and 20 minutes later were conducting their first search of the day.

At the first house, they detected 56g of cannabis in one bedroom and 3g in another.

The dogs searched a nearby home and found 2g of methylamphetamine and 28g of cannabis.

Scent and Monte discovered five cannabis plants in a third house.

Another community invited the dog squad in and officers, workshops and the arts and sports centres were searched.

Nhulunbuy officer in charge Senior Sergeant Tony Fuller said the visits by the dogs was part of a strategy to control the flow of drugs into remote communities _ ``where the impact of its abuse is so apparent''.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: 7th January 2005
Source: Northern Territory News
Website: http://www.ntnews.com.au
Email: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Copyright: 2005 Northern Territory News