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

On six of these premises, police also found items associated with drug supply. These included items commonly used for wrapping and
cutting powder drugs. Police also found scales on one premises, and documents that they believed were associated with drug supply on
another. Syringes were located on seven of the eight non-domestic drug premises. 603 Quantities of money were found on four separate
premises. These quantities ranged from $190 to $2,360.
While it is not necessary for police to find drugs for premises to be considered to be drug premises, prohibited drugs were found on six of
the eight premises. The quantities of drugs found ranged from 0.06 to 73 grams of heroin.
At court, it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that all of these eight premises were drug premises.
Case study 19.
Non-domestic fortified drug premises in Cabramatta
Several weeks after the Act came into operation, plain-clothes police attended a unit in Cabramatta, acting on intelligence reports
that had been received in relation to the premises. Police conducted surveillance, and also approached several drug users they
had seen approach the premises who admitted having purchased cocaine from the unit.
Police applied for, and were granted, a drug premises search warrant.
The ground floor balcony of the unit was enclosed by a metal cage covered with heavy mesh. There were two doors at the
entrance, an external one made of heavy metal, with a timber door behind it. According to the event narrative, police found the
following items inside the unit:
… a number of items related to the intravenous use of prohibited drugs. These included syringes, wrappings, swabs, smoking
pipe and razor blades. They also located documents with figures believed to relate to drug transactions. 604
The documents found included a book that appeared to be a ledger with phone numbers, records of names and amounts of
money owing. Police also found an envelope with figures written down it and a page from an exercise book with figures down
one side, and a lot of writing in a foreign language down the other. 605 When questioned during the court proceedings, a police
witness said: “in my experience, I’ve seen figures like this on a number of occasions … indicating a ledger to do with the supply of
prohibited drugs.” 606 No drugs or cash were located during the search.
The unit was unfurnished, except for a single mattress in one of the bedrooms. There was no fridge and minor to nil kitchenware.
Most of the cupboards were bare. Police concluded that the unit could “not be described as a normal residential home”. 607
Two men were charged with being found on drug premises: the young man who opened the door, and another man in his forties.
A third man found on the premises, the occupier, was also charged with allowing his premises to be used as a drug premises.
Both of those charged with being found on a drug premises were convicted and sentenced to twelve months imprisonment,
subsequently appealed, and each had their sentences reduced to four months. Charges against the occupant of the unit of
allowing his premises to be used as a drug premises were dismissed. This court case is discussed in detail in the chapter,
“Offences in the Drug Premises Act”.
Case study 20.
Non–domestic fortified drug premises in Cabramatta
Police executed another search warrant on a similar type of premises. When officers attempted to enter the unit, they found that
a chair had been wedged behind the door. There was also a metal plate near the door lock that police alleged was an attempt to
secure and strengthen the entrance door.
When police entered the unit, they found a number of items relating to the intravenous use of prohibited drugs, including used
syringes, swabs and spoons. They also found a meat cleaver and a knife on a metal rod near the front entrance, and a set of
scales, packets of balloons, and aluminium foil. In the event narrative, the premises was described in the following way:
603 See Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act, s. 11 (d).
604 COPS event narrative, Cabramatta LAC, Drug Premises Incident 3.
605 Liverpool Local Court, Police v Dang Nguyen, 4 December 2001.
606 Ibid, p.9.
607 COPS event narrative, Cabramatta LAC, Drug Premises Incident 3.
114
NSW Ombudsman
Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001