THREE men will appear in court after they were allegedly busted with around $20,000 worth of ice, speed and cannabis destined for the streets of Swan Hill at the weekend.
In what has been described as a significant find for uniformed officers, a total of 11 grams of ice, nine grams of speed and 30 grams of cannabis was allegedly seized during two routine vehicle checks on Saturday.
Sergeant Michael Mannix said two Swan Hill men, 23 and 35, and a Melbourne man, 25, had been charged with trafficking drugs and possessing a drug of dependence.
The Swan Hill men had been further charged with possessing proceeds of crime.
Sgt Mannix said police intercepted the vehicle of the two local men for routine checks as they were driving along Karinie St at 2.40pm Saturday.
Officers allegedly found five grams of ice, nine grams of speed, 30 grams of cannabis and $5000 cash inside their car.
Just a few hours later at 8.30pm, police made their second big find when they stopped the 25-year-old Melbourne man on Campbell Street.
It is alleged the man, who has no links to the local area, was in possession of six grams of ice.
Sgt Mannix said the value of the ice allegedly seized from the cars was estimated to be between $16,000 and $20,000 — a “significant” haul for uniform officers simply carrying out their normal duties during Swan Hill’s busy grand final weekend.
“That’s over 20 grams in one day — that’s a high volume of ice that was going to hit the streets,” he said.
He said it should serve as a warning to any other people thinking of trafficking drugs in the Swan Hill region.
“The crew members manning the patrol vehicles are trained and well and truly equipped to detect such offences,” Sgt Mannix said.
“People need not think it is only a specialist area — we’re proactive and actually target people likely to be possessing a drug of dependence.”
The Melbourne man has been remanded in custody to appear in court next week, while the Swan Hill men have been released on bail to appear in court in November.
