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

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When police searched the premises, they found “cash and other items consistent with the [defendant’s name] involvement with the supply of … drugs and the manufacture of amphetamine.” 797 They found large quantities of money, firearms and documents that appeared to be associated with illicit drug manufacture. In addition, the following prohibited drugs and restricted substances were located: • 45.59 grams of methylamphetamine • 5 ml plastic jar of methylamphetamine • 0.69 grams of Hydrobutanic Acid (GBH) • 2 tablets of a drug called “V” • 34.7 grams of testosterone (a prescribed restricted substance) • 242 pseudoephedrine tablets (which can be used as a precursor to make prohibited drugs) and • 1.4 grams of cannabis leaf. Various documents that may have been associated with the manufacture of prohibited drugs were also located in two brief cases found at the premises. These included instructions for establishing a clandestine laboratory, and other documents outlining the steps involved in manufacturing amphetamines, LSD and MDMA (ecstasy). Police also found receipts for laboratory equipment. Substantial quantities of money were located at the premises. An amount of $29,140 was found on the top of a wardrobe in offender As bedroom, and $1,700 in a top drawer. A large quantity of money was also identified in an off shore bank account, $150,000, and over $40,000 in another bank account. Offender A also appeared to own two boats. Police noted in a facts sheet that offender A is unemployed, is “apparently in receipt of no legitimate income”, and “has engaged in activities which defies his apparent means”. 798 A property tracking warrant was executed on Offender As mother’s house. Police found 2.212 kilograms of methylamphetamine, stored in several fridges. 799 They also located items such as laboratory glassware and scales. Police stated that they questioned offender A in relation to the manufacture of the 2.212 kilograms of methylamphetamine, but he declined to answer any of the questions that were put to him. 800 Case study 26. Drug premises search warrant 2: offender C and D’s premises A drug premises search warrant was also executed at the home of two associates of offender A, who we will call offenders C and D. During the Strike Force investigation, offender C had been identified as having knowingly taken part in the supply of methylamphetamine. During the execution of the search warrant, offender’s C and D were asked to declare any items within the premises that were illegal. According to the event narrative, offender D: … indicated to a blue vase situated within the dining room of the premises that contained “Amphetamine”. Police seized [this] vase and a quantity of power, crystal and tablets were found, along with a set of scales and a spoon. The search continued and a further amount of drugs, containing powder, crystal, tablets, and liquid forms of drugs were found. Again within the dining room of the unit. 801 797 COPS event narrative 1, State Crime Command, Drug Premises Incident 1. 798 Facts sheet, State Crime Command, Drug Premises Incident 1. 799 COPS event narrative 1, State Crime Command, Drug Premises Incident 1. This quantity of drugs, and other items located at this premises, are not included in the items seized, as this was not a Drug Premises search warrant, and drug premises charges were not laid against the occupants. 800 COPS event narrative 1, State Crime Command, Drug Premises Incident 1. 801 COPS event narrative 2, State Crime Command, Drug Premises Incident 1. 146 NSW Ombudsman Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001
The prohibited drugs that were located at the premises were 67.1 grams of amphetamine, and 161 ecstasy tablets. 802 In offender CAS bedroom, police also found $900, a set of scales, and a large bag of ammunition that was “secreted under the bottom draw of the bedside tables.” 803 Charges laid following police action Offender A was charged with a total of 61 offences including allowing his premises to be used as drug premises, organising drug premises, a large number of supply offences, drug manufacturing, possession, and supplying drugs on an ongoing basis. The Crime Commission restrained the money in the accounts noted above, and other property, including the two boats that were also in his name. Offender B was charged with being found on drug premises and with several supply offences. The charge of being on drug premises was put on a schedule of offences to be considered by the court for the purposes of sentencing offender B in relation to the supply offences. Offender B received a two year prison sentence for one of the supply offences, and a 250 hour community service order for another supply offence. Offender C was charged with allowing her premises to be used as drug premises and supply. Offender D was charged with organising drug premises, and supply offences. The charge laid against offender C of allowing her premises to be used as drug premises was put on a schedule of offences to be taken into account in her sentencing for the supply offence. Offender C received a 300 hour community service order for this supply offence. The charge laid against offender D for organising drug premises was also put on a schedule, and he was sentenced to three years imprisonment for a supply offence. 8.6.4. Are drug users and user/dealers being targeted by the Drug Premises Act In parliamentary debate, and in submissions to our discussion paper, concerns were expressed that the Drug Premises Act may not target high level drug suppliers, but may instead target user/dealers involved in drug premises as a consequence of their own drug use. It was evident from our examination of 80 court transcripts relating to the use of the Act in Cabramatta that 25 of those charged with an offence under the Drug Premises Act had a history of drug use and/or a history of drug addiction. However, it must be noted that in some circumstances, a prior history of drug use will not become apparent at court. 804 It may be that the number of people involved in drug premises in Cabramatta who are also drug users is higher than our analysis of court transcripts suggests. A health professional from Cabramatta who put in a submission to our discussion paper stated that most of those she knew of who had been charged on drug premises in the area were either street dealers, or people who “deal enough to maintain their own needs”. 805 In a focus group we conducted, a Cabramatta detective described the type of drug supply operations targeted by the Act as “on the street, a house that may be dealing to addicts, nearly all of them are addicts themselves”. 806 We have also found some evidence in event narratives where it was explicitly stated that people arrested on drug premises were dealing drugs to support their own addiction. For example, on one occasion, police obtained a drug premises search warrant for a house in a LAC in the Northern Region “as a result of police surveillance and numerous intelligence reports”. 807 They arrested the occupier of the house, a 42 year old male, as he walked in through the back gate of his house. When police searched him, officers found 5.6 grams of heroin, and, according to the event narrative, he “stated that he … intended to sell half and self administer the other”. The man also told police that he had been obtaining this quantity of heroin two or three times a week for the past two months to “finance his own habit”. 808 Inside the house, police found numerous unused and used syringes, two sharps containers, five vials of methadone and three grams of cannabis, and some stolen property that the man told police he had received as payment for supplying heroin. The man later admitted that he allowed his premises to be used by between six and ten people a day to administer heroin. 809 802 COPS event narrative 4, State Crime Command, Drug Premises Incident 1. 803 COPS event narrative 3, State Crime Command, Drug Premises Incident 1. 804 Usually, this type of information emerged in discussions on sentencing or penalties, but may not emerge if, for example, the defendant pled not guilty. 805 Submission, Health Professional, received 30 August 2003. 806 Focus group, Cabramatta police, 2 July 2003. 807 COPS event narrative, Northern Region, Incident 6, 10 January 2002. 808 Ibid. 809 Ibid. NSW Ombudsman Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001 147
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Review of the Police Powers (Drug P
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Contents Preface ..................
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Chapter 11. Drug move-on powers in
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Acknowledgements This report was re
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Part One. Background. Chapter 1. In
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Drug offences, unlike for example,
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elieve is in a public place with th
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Chapter 2. Methodology In this chap
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2.3.5. Health data NSP distribution
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As the table indicates, more than o
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2.4.7. Complaints The NSW Ombudsman
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NSW Police advised us that calculat
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Another data limitation is that COP
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Chapter 3. Legislative survey This
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Once police have entered the suspec
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The table below sets out the penalt
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(c) that the nature and extent of t
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The Act contains four additional in
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A fortification removal notice is r
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For example, section 39(3) of the Q
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Part Two. Drug premises Chapter 4.
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In the police training manual on th
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Case study 2. Drug premises search
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4.2.4. Presenting the application b
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A Crime Manager we interviewed from
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applications. In this Act, an inves
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Chapter 5. The definition of drug p
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5.2. Recommendation That Parliament
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5.5.2. Section 11(2)(b): fortificat
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In our chapter on Cabramatta, we di
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The woman was found guilty of allow
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5.5.5. Means or devices for drug us
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Number of Premises Figure 7. Razor
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However, no other evidence of drug
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• magnum revolver and a 0.357 mag
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5.5.8. Section 11(2)(g): large amou
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The magistrate noted that there wer
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In relation to the money located on
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5.7.6. Cars as drug premises As we
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… rather than being on the edge o
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Chapter 6. The Drug Premises Act -
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• the offence of being found on,
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With reverse onus, we didn’t have
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In the following section, we will d
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Officers from the State Crime Comma
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The second reading speech, which gi
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In the granny flat, police found ca
Page 95 and 96: Table 6. Pleas entered and court ou
Page 97 and 98: The magistrate said that he had a r
Page 99 and 100: 13. Allowing use of premises as dru
Page 101 and 102: The defendant says he was not there
Page 103 and 104: Figure 13: Ages of people charged w
Page 105 and 106: Table 12. Number of charges for var
Page 107 and 108: Chapter 7. Cabramatta 7.1. Introduc
Page 109 and 110: No. of Drug Premises Figure 14: Num
Page 111 and 112: Table 13. Information about drug pr
Page 113 and 114: It should be clear that this legisl
Page 115 and 116: The unit was in disarray, with spar
Page 117 and 118: 7.5. Level of drug supply the law i
Page 119 and 120: 7.5.3 Firearms, weapons and high le
Page 121 and 122: 7.6. Charges laid under the Drug Pr
Page 123 and 124: 7.6.4. Young Asian people and drug
Page 125 and 126: Of these 52 people, 31 people pled
Page 127 and 128: 7.8. Conclusion: Impact of the Drug
Page 129 and 130: By way of comment, the continuing a
Page 131 and 132: Chapter 8. Targeting drug supply Pa
Page 133 and 134: Table 18. Drug Misuse and Trafficki
Page 135 and 136: Low level drug suppliers are more l
Page 137 and 138: Other forms of organisation in evid
Page 139 and 140: Table 19. Drugs Located, State-wide
Page 141 and 142: Table 23. Drugs located, Northern R
Page 143 and 144: However, the submission concluded b
Page 145: To begin with, telephone intercepts
Page 149 and 150: One factor that appears to have per
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