State Crime Command Drug Squad detectives raided an isolated property near Mudgee in the state’s central west, arresting four men and dismantling a large cannabis cultivation operation.[1][2] Just before 8 am on Friday 6 March 2009, more than two dozen police from Strike Force Bokhara, drawn from the Drug Squad, the Dog Squad and the Mudgee and Hunter Valley commands, executed a search warrant on the 600-acre farm on Cliffdale Road at Turill, 80 km north of Mudgee.[1][2]
1,500 plants under irrigation
Police found two separate crops holding about 1,500 mature plants, with an estimated potential street value of about $4 million.[1] Officers also found sophisticated irrigation lines across the rugged bushland property.[1] The four men, aged 31, 36, 44 and 61, were arrested at the scene, which had been under covert surveillance for several days, and were taken to Mudgee Police Station to assist inquiries.[1][2] The plants were ripped from the ground, recorded as evidence and set for destruction in a supervised burn.[1]
At the same time, detectives searched an address at Lake Heights and seized items and documents linked to the cannabis operation.[1] Drug Squad commander Detective Superintendent Nick Bingham called the raid a huge success and warned growers in remote locations that police were watching them.[1]
