By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
A BELGRAVE man, 61, has been arrested following drug raids carried out by Croydon Divisional Tasking Unit early this morning at three properties in Boronia, Ferntree Gully and Bayswater.
Police seized a large commercial quantity of over 2000 cannabis plants and seedlings from the three warehouses as well as from the man’s Wattle Avenue home address in Belgrave. Police said the three warehouses are all leased in the man’s name, and that he was also in possession of the keys to all three commercial premises.
Police located sophisticated hydroponic operations in the warehouses along with a sophisticated cannabis oil extraction processing equipment at the warehouse on Dorset Road in Ferntree Gully.
The Divisional Tasking Unit called specialist squads to the location including a chemist and an on-call clandestine laboratory squad to dismantle the set up.
The three warehouses that were targeted in the raids were in groups of other factories and the surrounding factories where the clandestine laboratory squad are working have been evacuated due to the danger posed by the oil extraction process.
Detective Senior Sergeant Jim Sutherland, officer in charge of the Croydon Divisional Tasking Unit, said such quantities of cannabis are not a normal occurrence.
“We find commercial quantity crop houses fairly regularly,” he said.
“This was classed as a large commercial quantity because there were well over 1000 plants.”
Det Sgt Sutherland said the cannabis oil extraction set-up was also a very uncommon discovery.
“It’s an unusual set-up,” he said.
“It can be used to extract hashish oil which is them made available to the illegal drug market. It’s not a normal thing.”
In a written statement, Det Sgt Sutherland also said that raids of this size cause a major disturbance to drug traffickers.
“Operations like this disrupt the trafficking of substantial quantities of cannabis and has the potential to make a real difference to supply throughout the eastern suburbs,” he said.
The man will be faced with drugs-related charges including cultivation and trafficking a commercial quantity, as well as proceeds of crime.
The man is currently at a remand hearing at Ringwood magistrate court, and police expect he will be remanded until a hearing tomorrow.
