MELBOURNE, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of Victoria have arrested 12 people after dismantling an alleged methamphetamine trafficking syndicate.
Victoria Police said in a statement on Tuesday that detectives in the city of Shepparton, 160 km north of Melbourne, arrested 12 people on Friday and charged six with drug trafficking or cultivation offenses following a major investigation.
While executing search warrants related to the investigation, officers allegedly located and seized quantities of methamphetamine, also known as methylamphetamine, cocaine, cannabis and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) as well as ammunition, weapons and stolen vehicles.
In addition to the six people who were charged with trafficking and cultivation offenses, five more were charged with offenses relating to the possession of drugs and prohibited weapons. One person was released pending further investigations.
It will be alleged in court that the syndicate was purchasing methamphetamine in Melbourne and selling it across Shepparton and surrounding areas.
According to Victoria Police, detectives in Shepparton have arrested and charged almost one drug trafficker every week over the last year.
Almost 40 percent of those arrests were related to methamphetamine trafficking.
The latest report from the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, which was published in August 2025, revealed that people in Victoria consumed 3,455.2 kg of methamphetamine in the 12 months to August 2024 and that national consumption increased by 21 percent year on year to 12,815 kg. ■