Border roadblock nets drug cache

NT POLICE will conduct regular roadblocks on the border with South Australia to catch drug runners.

Only two days after the launch of the Alice Springs-based Substance Abuse Intelligence Desk, police involved in the joint operation have recorded their first major drug bust near Kulgera.

A roadblock was set up with a drug sniffer dog on Saturday which detected cannabis, amphetamines and LSD inside the vehicle of a 59-year-old Alice Springs man.

Police found almost 1kg of cannabis as well as 57g of high-grade amphetamines believed to have been a precursor to make more of the drug, plus four LSD tabs inside the vehicle.

The combined value of the illicit substances is estimated at $60,000 and the vehicle was seized by police.

In another SAID operation, three drug search warrants were executed at the dry Mutitjulu community near Alice Springs for drugs and alcohol.

One resident was arrested for possession of a substantial amount of alcohol and cannabis while two others were issued with drug infringement notices for cannabis.

The SAID is a combined operation between police from the Territory, South Australia and Western Australia to target the illegal drug, petrol and alcohol trafficking in the cross-border region.

Detective Superintendent Murray Taylor said anyone running the gauntlet of trafficking drugs, petrol or alcohol in remote Central Australian communities had a greater risk of getting caught than ever before.

"Part of the initiative is to build up a rapport with communities and demonstrate to residents we can stop these substances from getting in," he said.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Tuesday, 31 January 2006
Source: Northern Territory News (Australia)
Email: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Website: http://www.ntnews.com.au