SYDNEY, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of Queensland have arrested 25 people and charged them with hundreds of offenses after disrupting an alleged major drug trafficking syndicate.
In a statement released on Friday, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) said that 25 people were arrested following a nine-month operation that targeted a long-standing drug supply syndicate operating in and around the city of Gladstone, over 400 km north of Brisbane.
During extensive searches at two residential properties and adjacent bushland, police officers allegedly located and seized over 160 kg of cannabis, 7.5 kg of methamphetamine and 300 grams of cocaine.
The QPS said that the seized drugs had a combined value exceeding 3 million Australian dollars (about 2.13 million U.S. dollars).
In addition to the drugs, police allegedly seized over 1 million AUD in cash, multiple vehicles and other assets.
The 25 people were charged with a combined 235 offenses, including 11 people who were charged with trafficking dangerous drugs.
Detective Senior Sergeant Brett Richard, the officer in charge of the Gladstone Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), said that police are confident that the nine-month operation has successfully dismantled a deeply entrenched drug syndicate. ■