Heartbreak High star Putu Winchester-Stanton is one of seven men who has been charged with drug offences during an ongoing police investigation in the coastal NSW hotspot Byron Bay.
The former actor, who starred as a surfer named Pongo on
Home and Away and more notably as class clown Dennis on the iconic Heartbreak High, was arrested at a Mullumbimby home last month, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Winchester-Stanton in the credits for Heartbreak High. Source: Netflix
According to NSW Police, in October 2020 officers from the Northern Region North Coast Region Enforcement Squad (RES) launches two separate investigations via strike forces Strike Force Kelly and Strike Force Tulipa to “investigate the supply of cocaine in the Byron Bay, Mullumbimby and Bangalow area.”
02:04 EDT, 11 May 2021
A soap star accused of masterminding a Byron Bay cocaine syndicate once spent time in a Papua New Guinea prison on drug charges after a surfing trip went wrong.
Putu Winchester-Stanton was one of seven men arrested after police raided homes across the New South Wales far north coast on April 22.
The 44-year-old tattooed surfer has remained behind bars since his arrest and was formally refused bail again in Byron Bay Local Court on Monday.
Winchester-Stanton was born in Bali, raised in Bondi and moved to Byron after his big break starring in Heartbreak High came to an end in 1999.
Former Home and Away actor among seven men charged with drug offences in Byron Bay
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Former
Home and Away actor Putu Winchester-Stanton is among seven men charged with drug offences following two separate investigations into the ongoing supply of cocaine in Byron Bay.
Following inquiries last October, police executed four search warrants at a Byron Bay business and at homes in Byron Bay, Bangalow and Mullumbimby about 1pm on April 22.
Former Home and Away actor Putu Winchester-Stanton, 44 (wearing red shorts) was charged with 10 offences including supplying commercial quantity prohibited drugs and knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group.
09:49 EDT, 10 May 2021
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A former Home and Away actor has been accused of being the mastermind behind an alleged drug syndicate supplying cocaine across Byron Bay.
Putu Winchester-Stanton, 44, was one of seven men arrested after police raided homes across the Byron Shire on Thursday April 22.
He was charged with 10 offences including supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and knowingly direct activities of criminal group.
The actor made headlines in September last year after saying Melburnians who had moved to Byron made his skin crawl and were greedy and selfish .
Former Home and Away actor Putu Winchester-Stanton (right) was arrested on April 22
Crime by Luke Mortimer and Janet Fife-Yeomans 11th May 2021 5:52 AM
Premium Content POLICE have charged seven men with a raft of offences after allegedly seizing cash and hundreds of grams of cocaine during home and business raids in northern New South Wales. NSW Police said in a statement officers attached to the North Coast Region Enforcement Squad (RES) launched Strike Force Kelly and Tulipa last October to investigate the supply of cocaine in the Byron Bay, Mullumbimby and Bangalow area. Former Home and Away star Putu Winchester-Stanton was among those arrested, The Daily Telegraph reported. It s alleged extensive inquiries resulted in four search warrants being carried out at a Byron Bay business and at homes in Byron, Bangalow and Mullumbimby on April 22.