NT police bust alleged Vietnamese crime syndicate with 113kg of cannabis
Northern Territory police have seized 113 kilograms of cannabis in a bust they say "strikes at the heart" of a sophisticated, cross-border criminal syndicate responsible for trafficking large quantities of illegal drugs into the territory.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the head of NT Police's Drug and Organised Crime Division, Superintendent Lee Morgan, said officers had also seized about $170,000 in cash and a small amount of cocaine on Monday.
He said detectives swooped on a vehicle transporting the cannabis on Willard Road in Holtze, east of Darwin, after intelligence indicated it was transporting the cannabis for distribution in the NT through established criminal networks.
Superintendent Morgan said the bust had "significantly disrupted the activities of a Vietnamese organised crime syndicate operating across state borders".
"This is not a case of low-level offending," he said.
He said the removal of the drugs from the supply chain would have "an immediate and significant impact on the local drug market".
"The reduced availability of cannabis will interrupt the operations of street-level dealers and limit the reach of this syndicate into our community," he said.
Police arrested two Victorian men, aged 27 and 56, and a local NT man, 26, with the trio expected to face court on a range of drug charges including supplying a commercial quantity of a schedule 2 drug on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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