Around 600km north-west of Sydney, there lies the small town called Tindarey home to 35 residents. Little did they know, they were walking distance from a property involved in industrial-scale cannabis cultivation.
Strike Force Hyperion lead the raid on the rural property. A task force you definitely don’t want to be on the other end of given their name.
On top of the 3,020 cannabis plants worth $6 million found on the property, a loaded double-barrel shotgun was also seized as evidence.
John Watson, the Detective Superintendent of Strike Force Hyperion mentioned the seizure was one of the largest in recent NSW policing.
This seizure is the largest outdoor cannabis crop located by the NSW Police Force since 2017 – with officers removing more than 3000 plants from the one location.
A single man was arrested in relation to the seizure – a 34-year-old from Griffith, about 200km south of Tindarey. It’s alleged he was involved in supplying and cultivating a large amount of cannabis across NSW.
Despite customers voluntarily exchanging their cash for cannabis, John Watson mentioned cannabis producers are still preying on Australians.
We want the community to know that our officers will continue targeting these criminal networks that remain in operation, preying on Australians at this difficult and vulnerable time.
The largest cities and states in the USA are leaving legalised cannabis stores open during the Covid-19 pandemic, deeming them an essential service, yet the NSW police still claim cannabis dealers are preying on their users.
The contrast is stark.