Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001 - NSW ...

Two days later, police were again conducting surveillance on the unit. They saw a female, described as a regular drug user, approach the
main door of the units, squat down, and then wait. She then sat down close to the police vehicle, prepared what appeared to be drugs
and injected herself in the left arm.
The next day, police returned to the unit in a surveillance van. From the van, they filmed about twenty people “who appeared to be drug
users go to the main door of the unit block and buzz the intercom. Police then saw them squat down and place money under the door:
Once this is done an Asian male appears at the side window of the top floor, which is the common window shared by the top
floor. The Asian male appears to have a conversation with the persons at the bottom of the door and then walks down to where
the money is placed and then walks to the middle window and throw a foil(s) down to the people waiting at the bottom. This is the
process observed for every buy during the time. 588
That day, police spoke to the residents of a nearby unit to determine if the drug supply was taking place from their premises. Police
discovered that these residents were elderly upstanding citizens and concluded that the other unit on the top floor was “responsible for
the vast amount of drug activity”. 589 Police then conducted a “habitation check” 590 on the occupant of the top floor unit, looked him up on
the COPS database and found that he was not known to police. 591
On the basis of the information outlined above, the drug premises search warrant was granted.
7.3.6. Cabramatta drug premises search warrant application 2
In this search warrant application, less background outlining the source of police suspicions relating to the premises was provided.
The application begins with the statement that surveillance was conducted on the premises over three consecutive days, enabling police
to establish who lived there. Police had intelligence about the female occupant of the premises, relating to drug dealing at a previous
address. Police ascertained that this woman had previously been charged with several possession and supply offences, some dating
back to 1997.
Police then made inquiries with community sources and found out when the woman had moved in. This information, police noted,
“corresponds with the time that police started receiving complaints about drugs being sold from the premises”. 592
The application notes that police had seven intelligence reports from community sources and police regarding drug dealing at the
premises. Most of these related to “people and cars frequenting the premises for short periods of time ... A number of the cars attending
the premises had intelligence for drug use”. 593
The application goes on to describe a series of incidents that took place near the house several days before the application for the search
warrant was made. Police saw a man leave the house and followed him. He was then seen placing a small balloon in his mouth, which he
swallowed. The man was charged with hindering police 594 and he provided a statement saying that he had gone to the house to purchase
drugs. Additional surveillance was conducted that day, and an officer saw more vehicles and persons coming and going after only staying
for a short period of time. That afternoon, one of these people was spoken to by police after the person left the house, and was “observed
to have a fresh track mark on his arm and appeared to be affected by drugs”. About an hour later, another man arrived at the house, and
left soon after. He was stopped and searched by police and was found in possession of twelve silver foils of cocaine. He admitted that he
had just bought them for $600 from an Asian woman.
Several days later, police applied for, and were granted, a drug premises warrant to search the premises.
7.4. The nature of drug premises targeted by the Act in Cabramatta
7.4.1. Introduction
Over the review period, the Drug Premises Act was used on different types of drug premises in Cabramatta. These included fortified nondomestic
drug premises, fortified drug premises that were used for domestic purposes, premises that were used for domestic purposes
that did not have fortifications, and cars.
A key impetus for the introduction of the Act, as noted above, was to enable police to deal more effectively with fortified drug premises. In
parliamentary debate on the Act, the Attorney General explained the type of premises the legislation was intended to target:
588 Ibid.
589 Ibid.
590 A “habitation check” is conducted by police to ascertain the identity of people who live at particular premises.
591 Search warrant application 1, Cabramatta LAC, Drug Premises Incident 6.
592 Search warrant application 3, Cabramatta LAC, Drug Premises Incident 24.
593 Ibid.
594 He may have been charged with hindering police because he swallowed the balloon.
112
NSW Ombudsman
Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001