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Thursday, 18 December, 2014
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Chippin’ in for Christmas BERWICK Lodge Primary School students Callum, Kyah, Imogen and Jolene were all smiles ahead of their special Christmas concert on Wednesday morning. As part of the school’s festive celebrations, the students performed a selection of well-known Christmas carols to mark the end of the year. The students are also giving out gifts this holiday season, as well as receiving them. Families have purchased gifts and placed them under the school’s Christmas tree in the office foyer, which will be collected and distributed to people in need by a representative from the Christian Helpers in Primary Schools Program (CHIPS). News photographer Garry Sissons dropped by at Berwick Lodge to capture all the Christmas action. For more photos from the concert, turn to page 13. 132604
■ $6m worth of drugs seized; Narre Warren man arrested in...
Big drug bust By LACHLAN MOORHEAD A 24-YEAR-OLD man from Narre Warren South has been arrested after early morning raids across Narre Warren North, Dandenong and elsewhere in Victoria yesterday. During the raids, police seized more than $6 million worth of drugs and broke up an international multi-million dollar trafficking syndicate. The Joint Organised Crime Task Force (JOCTF), led by the Australian Federal Police, arrested seven people in Victoria during the raids on Wednesday morning, in which it’s be2013
lieved more than $4.5 million worth of heroin was seized, as well as $1.5 million in ecstasy tablets and a significant amount of cash. A 53-year-old, from Auckland, was also arrested in New Zealand for drugrelated offences and questioned by police, as simultaneous warrants were executed in both countries on Wednesday. The joint investigation between the Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand and the JOCTF codenamed Operation Grote - began in August after police intelligence identified a longstanding international or-
ganised crime syndicate was targeting Australia and New Zealand for heroin trafficking. The Victorian warrants were executed at residential and business properties in Narre Warren North, Dandenong, Wollert, Roxburgh Park, Epping, Bundoora, Essendon, Docklands, Campbellfield, Hadfield, Glenroy, Fitzroy, Meadow Heights and Brunswick. Those arrested were due to face court on Wednesday and expected to be charged in relation to the trafficking of a large commercial quantity of heroin. Victorian Police Crime Command
Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana commended officers on the fivemonth operation. “Not only have we shut down a major international drug distribution and trafficking syndicate, we will have significantly affected, we believe, the accessibility of heroin on the street in Melbourne and the subsequent crime which results from it,” Mr Fontana said. Operation Grote consisted of officers from Victoria Police, AFP, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the Australian Crime Commission. The Victoria Police Spe-
cial Operations Group also worked with the AFP Special Response Group to safely execute the warrants. New Zealand Police Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess said it was encouraging to see a number of law enforcement agencies work closely together to investigate the major international syndicate. “The partnership between all the agencies involved and the co-operation and intelligence shared has led to these significant arrests in both countries and the seizure of large quantities of drugs,” Mr Burgess said.
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