Nimbin's Drugs Are Back In Sights

[Jim Finnel]

AUS - LOW-FLYING helicopters returned to Nimbin this week as part of Strike Force Farrelly’s ongoing cannabis eradication program.

Drug Squad officers seized 350 plants valued at $700,000 on Monday and expected a similar haul yesterday.

State Crime Command Superintendent Nick Bingham, personally overseeing the operation, was happy with the progress so far.

“A lot of these crops are in very isolated locations with treacherous terrain so it can take some time winching officers in and out and extracting the crops,” he said.

“We’re up here for the rest of the week and we hope to have a disruptive effect on the supply of cannabis in Northern NSW and South-East Queensland.”

Strike Force Farrelly has been operating throughout NSW for more than three months, seizing an estimated $50 million worth of cannabis over that period.

Three weeks ago, the strike force targeted the Tweed-Byron Local Area Command confiscating almost 2500 plants, valued at $5 million, in one week.

Strike force co-ordinator, Detective Senior Sergeant Alex Dipple, said the joint operation, in conjunction with the Richmond Local Area Command, would run until Friday and would target the whole command from ‘end to end’.

“We had some issues with the cloud on Monday, but hopefully the weather will hold,” he said. “We’re appreciating the softer ground up here. It was a lot tougher trying to uproot plants out at Nyngan where the ground was rock hard,” he said.

While a drug law reform symposium at SCU last week questioned the cost of policing cannabis, Supt Bingham said that was a political issue and his job was to enforce the law.

“Cannabis is the most prolific illegal drug used in the country. Some people call it a soft drug, but it causes mental illnesses and breaks up families. Kids also need to know that getting caught can ruin their career opportunities.”

STRIKE FORCE FARRELLY

Polair 1 chopper with special detection. equipment and five crew.

Seven officers from the State Crime Command’s elite drug squad.

Six four-wheel-drive ground support vehicles.

Eight officers from the Richmond Local Area Command.

Drug sniffer dog squad.

Radio communications support officer.

Strike Force Farrelly co-ordinator Detective Senior Sergeant Alex Dipple loads marijuana plants seized in the Nimbin area this week.​

NewsHawk: User: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: northernstar.com
Author: Dominic Feain
Copyright: 2010 APN News & Media Ltd
Contact: Contact us | Northern Star
Website: Nimbin's drugs are back in sights | Northern Rivers News | Local News in Northern Rivers | Northern Star

 

[ol hippy]

Choke on them a__hole !!

 

[Oddnonsmoker]

Why must they uproot them? If the plants are cut down to the ground late in the season, it is unlikely that they will grow back to anything of significant value, if at all. Cannabis plants have extremely tenacious roots. It would be easier to send a set of shears down with the guy than to have him pull them up by hand. Do they need to add the weight of the roots to exaggerate their seizure figures? Why are these worth $2,000 a plant anyway?

 

[flank]

Do they need to add the weight of the roots to exaggerate their seizure figures?

How are you surprised by this? This is the DEA we're talking about, the same people that have stated that pot is 1000% stronger now than 20 years ago, stating that they found hundreds of pounds of marijuana yet in reality its just the plant matter and not the sellable stuff, and its also the administration where an agent said that it WILL kill you.

The way the world is turning, the DEA will need all the help it can get to stay alive. Its gonna be legal soon enough, then when they DEA doesn't have enough work due to the small ammount of other drug use, maybe the government will actually start putting money into places where its needed like schools, hospitals, and reforms........

actually, the end of the DEA would just allow the government to put more money into the hands of private prisons, big daddy pharma, and that good ol' wholsome pure white tobacco cigarettes.