More than $600,000 worth of drugs seized in past year: Queensland crime watchdog
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More than $600,000 worth of drugs were seized as a result of investigations by the Queensland crime watchdog in the past year.
The Crime and Corruption Commission annual report reveals $636,809 worth of drugs were seized during 2016-17.
More than $600,000 worth of drugs was seized as a result of CCC investigations. Photo: Chris Howey
There were 24 people arrested on 724 charges from organised crime investigations.
Chairman Alan MacSporran said the CCC continued to prioritise organised crime investigations into high-threat criminal networks involved in the production and supply of dangerous drugs.
CCC chairman Alan MacSporran, pictured with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, said the body continued to face new challenges given its broad mandate targeting high-threat crime and corruption in Queensland. Photo: Dan Peled
“In January we closed Operation Altana, the final of three covert investigations focused on dismantling syndicates with overlapping lines of ice supply into Queensland from New South Wales,” he said.
“Operation Altana has resulted in seven people being charged with 688 separate offences relating to alleged trafficking of ice and cocaine on the Gold Coast.”
Organised crime continued to grow in complexity and illicit drug markets remained the most prominent and visible form of organised crime activity in Queensland.
The CCC continued to prioritise intelligence gathering and investigations into networks involved in manufacturing and trafficking ice in Queensland, with the market growing, including in regional areas.
Some of the CCC’s investigations involved alleged distribution of ice from Sydney into regional Queensland by a range of methods such as using rental vehicles or by post.
“It was also identified that outlaw motorcycle gangs were involved in ice trafficking in regional areas and highlighted the relationship between weapons theft and trafficking, and the trafficking and exchange of ice for stolen weapons,” the CCC’s annual report says.
In the past year, 19 people were arrested on 105 charges from paedophilia investigations, with the CCC increasing its paedophilia investigations by 77 per cent using extra government funding to improve forensic computer capability.
There were 11 Queensland children identified in a harmful environment.
There were 24 people charged with 196 criminal offences related to corruption investigations during 2016-17.
And there were 59 recommendations for disciplinary action from corruption investigations relating to 29 people.
Operation Belcarra dominated the headlines in the past year, with the CCC conducting a nine-day public hearing to investigate the conduct of candidates from four south-east Queensland councils during the 2016 local government election.
The report said the hearings provided significant evidence of the urgent need for recommendations to government to improve the transparency and accountability in the system.
The CCC is preparing a report on Operation Belcarra to be tabled in the 2017-18 financial year.
Over the year, assets worth $21.12 million were restrained and assets worth $8.99 million were forfeited to the state.
The CCC finalised 16 investigations into excessive use of force by Queensland police officers, resulting in four criminal charges.
In total, there were 850 allegations relating to excessive use of force by QPS officers received in 2016-17.
And it finalised 21 investigations into the improper release of information by police and other public sector employees, resulting in 112 criminal charges.
Examples of matters assessed by the CCC included allegations that information concerning the settlement of a civil defamation action involving former ministers was improperly released, a police officer unlawfully checking the QPS system to see if police had an interest in his son’s activities and releasing that information to his son, and a police officer checking a vehicle’s registration and giving that to an unauthorised third party and his neighbours.
Mr MacSporran said May 2017 marked the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
“It is testament to the hard work of the CCC and its predecessor agencies that the systemic corruption identified during the Fitzgerald Inquiry is no longer commonplace in our public institutions,” he said.
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