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

A real problem will arise with regard to premises that are used for more than one purpose. A house may be a secure house that is
used for the supply or manufacture of a drug; it may also be a shared house or a family home whereby some or all of the residents
may be completely unaware that drug supply and manufacture is going on. For instance, the residents may work set hours and the
supplying and manufacturing may occur when no-one but the person committing the offences is in the house. 613
Our research indicates that the Act was almost always used at domestic premises, in Cabramatta and elsewhere in the state, though in
Cabramatta, non-domestic drug premises were more prevalent than in other LACs in NSW. The case study below illustrates the use of the
Act on premises used for domestic purposes. This was the first time police used the Act in Cabramatta.
Case study 21.
Drug premises used for domestic purposes
Police began to conduct random surveillance on a house in Cabramatta. Over a few weeks, they saw a number of people come
and go, and stay for a short period of time.
One of the occupants of the house was a convicted heroin supplier and a drug user. Police had also seen drug paraphernalia
scattered throughout the backyard.
A drug premises search warrant application was prepared that detailed the surveillance police had conducted at the premises.
Police also noted that they had several intelligence reports in relation to the convicted heroin supplier who lived in the unit. The
search warrant was granted.
When they arrived at the premises to execute the search warrant, police found a three year old child, the child’s father and
grandmother, and three Asian men in their late 20s and early 30s. The house was furnished, and children’s toys were scattered
on the floor in almost every room. The child’s grandmother lived in one room, but the child was visiting the house with his father.
The search warrant video shows evidence of drug use in most rooms of the house. 614 Police found a spoon with drug residue in
it on the kitchen bench and a discarded syringe in the laundry basin. There were also numerous syringes in various rooms in the
house. One officer said that he had “never seen so many uncapped syringes in the one place”. 615
As police entered the house, one of the young men occupant A ran towards the back of the house, dropped a plastic bag with
five balloon packages in it and threw an uncapped syringe into the laundry sink. When police caught up to him, they noticed
a foil in his mouth and attempted, without success, to prevent him from swallowing it. Another of the young men, occupant B,
immediately ran upstairs when police entered, was chased by police, and jumped out the window of the top floor bedroom. He
complained of back pain and was taken to a nearby hospital. 616
Police did not find any items associated with drug supply, as opposed to drug use. Police found one balloon of cocaine, weighing
0.42 grams, a further 0.10 grams of cocaine, and four balloons of heroin, weighing 0.79 grams in total, that were found near the
occupant police had chased through the house. In addition, police found $2,839 on one person, and $1,645 on another.
All four young men, including the child’s father, were charged with being found on, entering or leaving drug premises. The
Department of Community Services was notified about the child who was considered to be a young person at risk. The
grandmother was not charged. Occupant A was convicted of being found on drug premises and sentenced to 12 months
imprisonment. Occupant B was also convicted of this offence and received a 12 month bond. The child’s father received a
12 month bond, and other young man who was charged with being found on drug premises was sentenced to six months
imprisonment.
We note here our discussion and recommendations in Chapter 6 about the application of the Act in relation to dual purpose
premises.
613 The Hon. Ian Cohen, NSWPD, 7 June 2001, p. 14636.
614 Search Warrant Video, Cabramatta LAC, Drug Premises Incident 1.
615 Ibid.
616 COPS event narrative, Cabramatta LAC, Drug Premises Incident 1.
116
NSW Ombudsman
Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001