South Australian police have seized over $1.5 million in cannabis from an Adelaide property as part of a statewide crackdown on black market cannabis.
Federal and state police seized the cannabis after carrying out a raid at a Northfield property on Wednesday the 3rd. Police believe the property was being used as a safe house to process cannabis before it could be distributed.
Over 320 kilograms of dried cannabis was seized from the home, along with $50,000 in cash.
According to AFP Detective Superintendent Gavin Stone, police believe the house was part of a larger black market cannabis operation run by the Rebels bikie gang.
We will allege that the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang was profiting from this illicit operation and our inquiries are ongoing into the extent of the operation and network.
Stone also believes the cannabis could have earned the gang $1.55 million in profit if it had reached the streets.
The raid resulted in the arrests of six men, all of whom are suspected to have bikie gang ties. The men were charged with trafficking a controlled drug in a commercial quantity. Five of the men were granted bail on Wednesday.
The sixth man, Aaron Daniele, faced Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday, where his bail was denied. The men will all face court in April this year.
The raid was part of an ongoing crackdown on illegal cannabis operations in South Australia. Over the past twelve months, police have seized over 20,000 cannabis plants across the state. Over 10,000 of these came from recent raids in Buckland Park and Virginia.
Police also seized 65 cannabis plants last week from an operation hidden with a “secret underground door.”
According to our price guide to weed in Australia, 320 kilograms of dried cannabis could be worth up to $3.2 million in South Australia.
