Detective Superintendent John Watson said the syndicate involved in the importation was “well resourced and well organised”. <\/p>\n
“They were very skilled at what they were doing and they knew the risks,” he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey went out of their way to seemingly fly under the radar.<\/p>\n
“We know this was not their first importation. We discovered evidence of previous imports.”<\/p>\n
Watson said a “huge operation” unfolded after the seizure on July 27, culminating in 11 Commonwealth search warrants and involving more than 100 officers. <\/p>\n
Two men, one aged 24 and the other aged 26, were arrested at a unit in Burwood and have since been charged. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Two Victorian men – aged 34 and 40 – were also stopped in a vehicle at Sydney Olympic Park. Both were arrested and one has since been charged.<\/p>\n
One of the three men arrested was an “organizer,” Watson said.<\/p>\n
“The others were well entrenched in this particular union,” he added.<\/p>\n
“We know there are others, we cannot rule out more arrests.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have direct information now that the men from Melbourne were here, with the intention of breaking up components of this (transport) and potentially taking it to Melbourne. <\/p>\n
“The community is better off for these arrests and seizures.”<\/p>\n