source : the age
Illicit drugs, steroids, weapons and cash have been seized during an early morning raid as part of a wider investigation into alleged drug trafficking on Victorian construction sites.
Three properties in Mulgrave, Heathmont and Fitzroy were raided by Taskforce Hawk investigators early on Thursday.
Police allege a 35-year-old CFMEU delegate was one of three people importing drugs and steroids through the mail and trafficking them at construction sites across Melbourne.
In footage released by police, the Mulgrave man was shown being escorted by police from a property on a suburban street in Melbourne’s south-east.
A 32-year-old Fitzroy man and a 27-year-old Fitzroy woman were also arrested.
Steroids and peptides, drug paraphernalia, a large amount of cash, cocaine, MDMA and cannabis, electronic devices, a taser, two extendable batons and OC spray were among the items seized by police.
The two men were charged with trafficking anabolic steroids and drug and weapon possession.
They are both due to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in January.
The 27-year-old woman was released with an intent to summons.
The arrests follow separate raids on Wednesday at the home of former sacked CFMEU boss John Perkovic, as part of a wider investigation into suspected corruption and money laundering.
In August, five CFMEU officials were arrested during a police raid on the union’s Victorian headquarters over drug trafficking and corruption allegations.
A royal commission into the state’s construction sector will be led by former SA chief justice Chris Kourakis.
Former union leader John Setka also appeared in court on Thursday following his arrest in November.
The sacked CFMEU leader is accused of breaching court orders and using a carriage service to menace, harass and offend the embattled union’s government appointed administrator.
A landmark review into CFMEU corruption in Big Build projects alleged some large government-controlled construction sites were converted by bikie gangs into “drug distribution centres”.
The report by anti-corruption lawyer Geoffrey Watson, SC, published in February, described how rival gangs fought for control over the $530 million Hurstbridge Rail Line Upgrade because of its lucrative value as a drug-dealing hub, as well as an employer for taxpayer-funded jobs.
“Approximately 1000 workers were on the Hurstbridge site – 540 on day shift, approximately the same on the night shift. That many workers, placed into a confined area, made Hurstbridge a desirable place from which to distribute drugs,” Watson said in his report.
