YOUNG police say they "buckled at the knees" a network feeding hard drugs into Young last week, after arresting three locals on charges that could see them behind bars for decades.
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More than six months’ investigation was brought to a head last Thursday, when Strike Force Nandi swung into action.
A 42-year-old woman and her 21-year-old son were arrested outside Young North Public School at around 8am on Thursday morning.
Sitting on the kerb of McLerie Street, the two were cuffed, placed in separate vehicles and taken to Young Police Station for charging.
The son was charged with six counts of supplying a prohibited drug, on all counts methylamphetamine.
The woman faces almost two dozen drug-related charges, which Cootamundra Local Area Command (LAC) Detective Acting Superintendent Paul Huxtable said indicates the importance of the arrests.
"The charges that have emanated from the operation indicate that it was a very active drug-supply network, so we think we've buckled at the knees the methylamphetamine drug supply in Young," he said.
The mother, who comes from Young but recently moved to Boorowa with her son, faces two charges for the ongoing supply of a prohibited drug, each of which could carry a 20-year prison term.
She is also charged with the supply of an indictable quantity of illict drugs and knowingly taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug.
To top it off, she also has to answer for 17 charges for the egregious supply of an illegal drug.
Detective Acting Superintendent Huxtable said the arrests were the work of Strike Force Nandi, a group set up around last June to target the supply of drugs in Young.
"Drugs are the starting point or the nexus of many criminal offences," he said. "So we decided to look for the source of other crimes in drug-related activity, especially the people supplying the drugs.
"In order to strike at the heart of the drug problem, we looked to engage in a sustained, strike-force-style investigation, as opposed to nipping at the heels of it."
Not missing a beat, police broke another link in the chain on Friday morning, arresting a 49-year-old woman at her home on Back Creek Road, Young.
An alleged accomplice of the other two, she was charged with the supply of a prohibited drug, offering to supply an illicit drug and two counts of the eggregious supply of illegal drugs.
Conveyed to Young Police Station around 9.15am, the woman held her head in her hands while police escorted her inside.
Further afield, police also arrested a 32-year-old man from Claymore, a suburb in Sydney's outer-west.
Police executed a search warrant on the man's house, charged him with the supply of an indictable quantity of a prohibited drug and confiscated an illegal weapon and steroids found in his home.
Detective Acting Superintendent Huxtable said Strike Force Nandi involved detectives from Young, Cootamundra and Tumut, with assistance from the Goulburn, Macquarie Fields and NSW State drug units.
However significant last week's wins, Detective Acting Superintendent Huxtable said local police have no intention on taking things easy.
"Strike Force Nandi is still a living, breathing task force," he said.
"There are other people out there engaged in this industry and we know who they are."
Click the following links for full reports on the three bail hearings:
