A 49-year-old Nigerian immigration detainee, Dirichukwu Patrick Nweke, and his accomplice have been charged with running a drug ring after police busted an alleged $9 million drug operation operating out of Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney.
According to New South Wales Police on Saturday, organised crime investigators claim Nweke used an encrypted messaging service and had established a network of runners outside the detention centre, whom he coordinated and tasked to deal large amounts of methylamphetamine and cocaine throughout Sydney.
During a search of a unit at the detention centre on July 11, police found three mobile phones. Subsequent searches uncovered 2kg of methylamphetamine and $169,000 in cash, which had previously been seized by officers, according to police on Saturday.
Nweke has been charged with multiple offences, including directing a criminal group and supplying a large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs.
On Wednesday, detectives discovere
d 750 grams of methylamphetamine and 90 grams of heroin in a toilet bowl during a search of a home in Liverpool.
The heroin discovery was allegedly an attempt to dispose of the drugs, and additional heroin was found on the bathroom floor.
Police also recovered $325,000 in cash and an encrypted electronic device.
A 24-year-old man, alleged to be a runner for Nweke, was arrested and charged with supplying prohibited drugs, participating in a criminal group, and other offences.
During a press conference, Detective Superintendent Peter Faux said, “During the search, police located 750g of methylamphetamine and 90g of heroin in a toilet bowl, in what police will allege was an attempt to dispose of the drugs.
“Police also located and seized $325,000 in cash and a Dedicated Encrypted Criminal Communication Device.”
Police said this week’s efforts led to the dismantling of three separate syndicates across the city, with the street value of the seized drugs exceeding $9 million.
“The street value of those drugs which we’ve seized is more than $9 million,” Faux added.
Nweke appeared in Bankstown Local Court on July 12, while the alleged runner faced court on the same day as his arrest.
Both men were refused bail after brief court appearances.
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