A man has been charged with drug-related offences following inquiries after a vehicle stop in the state’s south at the weekend.
Just after 7pm on Saturday (30 October 2021), officers attached to South Coast Police District, conducting proactive road safety duties as part of Operation Chrome, stopped a white Toyota sedan on Newton Road, Bega.
The driver – a 33-year-old man – was subjected to a roadside breath test and returned a negative result.
Following further inquiries, police searched the man and allegedly located a small blade and cocaine.
In a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers located three resealable bags allegedly containing 47g of cannabis in the front passenger seat area, as well as drug paraphernalia inside the boot.
A roadside drug test allegedly returned a positive result for cannabis, cocaine and methylamphetamine (ice). The results will undergo further analysis.
The man was arrested and taken to Bega Police Station.
Following further inquiries, officers executed a search warrant at a home at Elbe Street, Bega, from 11.45pm.
During the search, police located a clandestine laboratory inside the premises, and seized items consistent with the manufacture of prohibited drugs.
A crime scene was established, before being examined and dismantled by detectives attached to the Drug and Firearms Squad’s Chemical Operations Team on Sunday (31 October 2021).
During the examination, police located further prohibited drugs including LSD, cannabis, magic mushrooms and a powder believed to be heroin.
Subsequently, a further search of the premises was conducted by the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment yesterday (Wednesday 3 November 20210), resulting in the seizure of a number of plants suspected to be related to the investigation.
All items and substances will undergo further forensic examination.
The man was subsequently charged with possess tablet press or drug encapsulator, possess or use a prohibited weapon without permit, cultivate prohibited plant, two counts of possess prohibited drug, and supply prohibited drug (indictable quantity).
The Bega man appeared at Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday (1 November 2021), where he was granted strict conditional bail to reappear at the same court on Tuesday 23 November 2021.
