One arrested after firearms, drugs seized by Australian police
Sydney: Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have arrested a man after seizing firearms and a commercial quantity of illicit drugs during raids north of Sydney.
The NSW Police Force said on Thursday that officers were notified on Tuesday morning of a single-vehicle crash in the suburb of San Remo, 80 km north of Sydney, where a man was seen running from the scene carrying a black bag.
A subsequent search of the area by police located two black bags allegedly containing two pistols and large quantities of methamphetamine and other illicit drugs, reports Xinhua news agency.
A short time later, officers executed a search warrant at a home in San Remo, where they allegedly located and seized seven more firearms, ammunition, commercial quantities of prohibited drugs and drug paraphernalia.
The search followed earlier seizures of ammunition and prohibited drugs by officers conducting firearm prohibition order compliance checks at nearby homes.
Police officers returned to the San Remo property on Wednesday and arrested a 24-year-old man.
He was taken to a local police station and charged with two counts of supplying a prohibited drug in large commercial quantities, one count of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime, as well as firearms offences.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Last month, police in the Australian state of Queensland arrested four people after seizing more than 100 kilograms (kg) of cannabis and several firearms.
The Queensland Police Service said in a statement that the major organised crime squad executed search warrants on a property and vehicle in the town of Alligator Creek, over 1,000 km northwest of Brisbane, on January 13.
During the search, detectives located and seized 108 kg of cannabis, almost 8 kg of methamphetamine, 1 kg of cocaine, as well as four rifles, one handgun, ammunition and over 400,000 Australian dollars (about 268,000 US dollars) in cash.
A 24-year-old man from the nearby city of Townsville was arrested and charged with 15 offences, including five counts of supplying dangerous drugs.
Three others, two of whom were from Townsville, were also arrested and charged with a combined 19 offences relating to the possession and supply of drugs.