NSW Police say they have disrupted a transnational organised crime network growing cannabis on an industrial scale across Sydney’s south-west and the Illawarra, arresting 19 people and seizing cannabis police valued at more than $80 million.[1][2] Strike Force Heradale ran for 11 months from December 2023, targeting sophisticated hydroponic farms the syndicate allegedly used to produce, package and distribute cannabis.[1][2]
The first arrests came in April 2024 at Kemps Creek in Western Sydney, where officers found more than 4,400 cannabis plants in 16 purpose-built greenhouses and arrested three people at the scene.[1] In May police raided a property at Calderwood in Shellharbour and seized 366 kilograms of harvested cannabis, arresting ten people.[1] A June raid at Bringelly uncovered 6,500 plants with no arrests at the time, but officers returning to the same property in October found the syndicate had allegedly re-established cultivation and seized 7,472 plants with a street value of $22 million, arresting one man tending them.[1] A September raid at Rossmore seized 4,000 plants and led to three arrests.[1]
Detectives said a breakthrough came in November 2024 with the arrest of two alleged principal organisers at Canley Vale, where more than 220 kilograms of cannabis head was being packaged and more than $240,000 in cash was seized; both men were refused bail.[1] In total police reported more than 23,000 cannabis plants and 586 kilograms of harvested cannabis seized, and said all 19 arrested had been refused bail to reappear in court the following year.[1]
