Strike Force Wessex was established last April to investigate alleged criminal groups involved in drug supply using drug run or ‘dial-a-dealer’ phones across Sydney.
The investigation has involved a number of operational phases, which began with attempting to identify the mobile phone retailers allegedly supplying fraudulent SIM cards.
During a raid on a mobile phone retail store on Chapel Road South in Bankstown last December, police allegedly located hundreds of fraudulent subscribed SIM cards and $60,000 cash, before charging a 71-year-old woman with two counts of dealing with proceeds of crime.
The following month a convenience store on Miller Road in Bass Hill was raided with detectives allegedly locating a number of SIM cards and approximately $58,000 cash, before charging a 53-year-old man with two counts of deal with property proceeds of crime < $100000, and two counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage etc by deception.
Detectives then worked to identify and recover some of the drug run phones from a number of alleged dealers, including the arrest of two men, aged 50 and 19, at Guildford last month, when police alleged located multiple mobile phones, approximately $3700 in cash, a baton and two gel blasters.
The younger man was charged with supply prohibited drug >indictable and
Police shut down drug runners
TWO men from Guildford have been charged after Criminal Group Squad detectives shut down 26 alleged drug runner phone numbers connected to more than 50,000 potential customers.
