2,976 cannabis plants seized on syndicate farm at Coominya
Queensland's State Drug Squad raided a Coominya property on 15 May 2023 and seized 2,976 cannabis plants growing in 19 greenhouses, plus seedlings and 32 kg of dried cannabis worth an estimated $23.1 million; a 26-year-old man arrested days later was charged with producing a commercial quantity.
🇦🇺 Coominya, Somerset Region, Queensland · Queensland, Australia
Detectives from Queensland’s State Drug Squad searched a rural property at
Coominya, about 80 kilometres west of Brisbane, on 15 May 2023 and seized
cannabis with an estimated street value of $23.1 million.[1][2]Inside 19
greenhouses, each 70 metres long, they found 2,976 cannabis plants, alongside
close to 1,600 seedlings in two hydroponic growth rooms and more than 32 kg
of dried cannabis in a house and a shipping container.[1][2]
No one was on the property at the time of the raid, but on 18 May detectives
arrested a 26-year-old man at a Heathwood home.[1][2]He was charged with
one count of producing a commercial quantity of cannabis and was due before
Richlands Magistrates Court on 6 June.[1][2]
Police linked the farm to an alleged national syndicate buying up isolated
rural Queensland properties for large-scale commercial cannabis production
and distribution across Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and the
Northern Territory.[2]Detective Inspector Brad Phelps said twelve
similarly sized farms had been dismantled so far and police were working
with other jurisdictions to destroy the group.[1][2]
Photos and video
Nearly 3,000 cannabis plants growing inside 19 greenhouses on the raided Coominya farm (police handout)Photo details
The outcome of the charged man's Richlands Magistrates Court appearance on 6 June 2023 was not reported in the opened accounts.
Police said they were still searching for others involved in the syndicate and gave no names beyond the arrested man.
The 2,976 plants and close to 1,600 seedlings are stated in the text; no plant figure is stored because the reports say the crop was seized, not destroyed.
Police seized 521 mature hydroponically grown cannabis plants and cultivation equipment while searching a home on Brooks Parade in Belmont, Lake Macquarie, and two neighbouring properties on 9 November 2026. No occupants were found; police put the plants' potential street value at $1,042,000 and said inquiries were continuing.
ACT Policing charged two 35-year-old men, one with trafficking a trafficable quantity of cannabis, after searching a Turner home on 7 November and seizing dried cannabis, several other drugs, about $110,000 in cash and two luxury cars. The homeowner was refused bail on 9 November; the second man, arrested on a warrant, applied for bail.
Victoria Police arrested and charged two Highett men, aged 48 and 67, after a 29 October 2026 warrant on Peace Street. Officers seized cannabis, hydroponic equipment and other drugs; one man is remanded and the other is on bail.
Hunter Valley police seized 280 plants at Denman on 29 September 2026 and 925 more at Muswellbrook and Singleton Heights on 1 October, taking Operation Cages to 1,465 plants worth about $4 million; two men, 36 and 56, were charged and refused bail.
