NORTH-EAST: Drugs seized after truck intercept


Police have seized over 40kg of cocaine after a truck was intercepted just outside of Barnawartha on Wednesday (Aug. 13).
Officers from Wangaratta and Wodonga Highway Patrols pulled over the B-Double on the Hume Hwy about 3.45pm.
It is believed the truck was travelling between Sydney and Melbourne.
The driver, a 40-year-old Windsor NSW man, was given a preliminary oral fluid test which returned a positive result.
A search of the truck was then conducted by highway patrol members, assisted by VIPER Taskforce members who were in the area at the time.
A number of packages believed to be cocaine were located secreted in the vehicle, as well as a small amount of methylamphetamine.
The man was interviewed by police and subsequently charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of cocaine and possess methyl-amphetamine.
He appeared at Wodonga Magistrates’ Court and was remanded to appear again on November 20.
Inspector Tracy Johnston, Eastern Region, said: “Yester-day’s seizure is a great result, to both remove a driver putting other road users at risk and also seize a significant amount of drugs that could have caused immense harm in our community.