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Multiple arrests and weapons, drugs seized as part of Geelong firearm operation
Detectives have arrested five people and seized a firearm, weapons, and drugs as part of a targeted operation across the Geelong area over the past fortnight.
Operation Shield concluded yesterday and involved a range of local policing resources including the Geelong FPO team, as well as members from the Public Order Response Team, Illicit Firearms Squad, and Echo Taskforce, serving new FPOs and carrying out FPO compliance checks across Greater Geelong, the Surf Coast and Colac Otways region.
During the course of the operation, police executed 36 warrants, conducting 30 Firearm Prohibition Order (FPOs) compliance searches on individuals currently banned from possessing a firearm and serving six new FPOs to individuals police deem a serious public safety risk if they were to possess a firearm.
21:20 EDT, 20 April 2021
A young nurse is facing serious drug trafficking charges after two separate police raids allegedly uncovered bundles of cash and party drugs.
Samantha Bidmade was arrested after a commercial quantity of meth and GHB was allegedly found at her Geelong home and another apartment in Melbourne.
Geelong Magistrates Court heard Bidmade, 29, used at least five mobile phones fitted with encrypted messaging apps to run her illicit drug operation.
Samantha Bidmade, 29, (pictured) is facing serious drug trafficking charges after two separate police raids uncovered bundles of cash and party drugs
Police allege the phones that were seized in the raids revealed detailed discussions about the movement of drugs and money.
An unassuming three-bedroom suburban home on a busy shopping strip has been revealed to be the location of an illegal brothel.
The property in Belmont near Geelong, Victoria, has now been shut down by police after it was recently declared a prescribed brothel by Geelong Magistrates Court.
Anyone who enters the High Street property could be slapped with a hefty fine or receive jail time under the court order, which is in place for 18 months, the Geelong Advertiser reported.
A property in High Street, Geelong has been declared a prescribed brothel with a court order in place preventing anyone entering the property in the next 18 months
The crackdown, named Operation Shield, saw 29 properties raided since Tuesday, February 16.
In total, four guns, five imitation guns, ammunition and 21 other banned weapons including knives, swords, knuckledusters and tasers were seized.
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(NSW Police)
Police also seized more than 50 grams of methamphetamine from several homes, as well as narcotic plants and other illicit drugs.
A number of people were handed Firearm Prohibition Orders (FPO), banning them from owning a gun, while others already subject to a FPO were searched for weapons.
One of these, a 39-year-old Alfredton man, was arrested after police found him in possession of a shotgun and ammunition during a compliance check on February 16.
Tara Murray
A Hillside man has been fined $1200 and banned for fishing for six months after being convicted for taking too much calamari and breaking water safety regulations in Queenscliff.
Victorian Fisheries Authority Director of Education and Enforcement Ian Parks said the man pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court, to taking more than the catch limit for calamari, speeding past another vessel and not wearing an approved life jacket when required. Fisheries Officers observed the man in October 2019, take more than the calamari catch limit, which is 10 per person per day.
“The man took a total of 23 calamari, two of which were returned to the water dead when a larger calamari was caught. This activity is known as ‘high grading’ and is not allowed,” Mr Parks said.