The raids, conducted in late March, were carried out by the SA Police Serious and Organised Crime Branch under the Operation Argon program.
It comes after the task force was first setup in late 2019 with the purpose of investigating ‘the syndicated large commercial cultivation and trafficking of cannabis’ throughout South Australia. And that they’ve done.
Police found 486 mature cannabis plants in the initial raid on March 24, growing near the town of Coonalpyn – about 100km south-east of Adelaide.
This lead them back to the suburbs of Adelaide, which further led to the arrests of five men.
Secrets were likely spilled, and locations divulged, as the police were soon on their way back to Coonalpyn to resume the hunt. This time, their prize would be even larger.
A second cannabis cultivation property was uncovered, leading to another 854 cannabis plants to be dug up.
Jon Halliday, the currently acting Detective Chief Inspector of the task force claimed this was ‘another significant seizure’.
While some criminals might think they are reducing their risk of apprehension by operating in remote areas, Operation Argon clearly demonstrates this not to be the case.
If only there were 10 plants less it would’ve been perfectly leet.