Police have intercepted a drug laden plane near the NSW-Victorian border and arrested 11 people in a cross-border drug bust believed to be linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Following an eight month investigation involving authorities from NSW, Queensland and South Australia, police arrested 67-year-old pilot John Charles White on the tarmac of Deniliquin airport at 4.30pm on Wednesday.
Detectives from the NSW gangs squad said they discovered 45 kilograms of cannabis on board and four kilograms of a precursor to the drug ice. Mr White, who is from Queensland but had flown from Adelaide, was charged with two counts of supplying large commercial quantities of drugs.
Detective Inspector Gavin Wood of the gangs squad said Mr White's arrest triggered further raids in southern NSW, South Australia and Queensland.
In Hay, an hour and a half's drive from Deniliquin, Deniliquin police raided three properties, arresting four men.
The men - Steve Harris, 38, Morgan Cox, 29, John Mirabelli, 43, and Frank Ruberto, 46 - were charged with gun supply offences and have been refused bail to appear in Deniliquin Local Court on Thursday.
Detective Inspector Wood said police would allege in court that large commercial quantities of drugs and firearms were being trafficked across the NSW border by people affiliated with the Descendants and Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gangs in South Australia.
The seizure of the ice-precusor was a "significant seizure in anyone's language", he said, and would have translated to a "very large commercial quantity of ice once manufactured".
The drugs were destined for the NSW market, he said.
He praised the co-ordinated efforts of police across the three states as "a great example of police doing their job, working together towards the one direction and one aim".
He also credited the efforts of local Deniliquin police, who triggered a larger investigation earlier this year after they seized 38 firearms, 100 ecstasy tablets and a small amount of ice. The bust revealed links to motorcycle gangs in South Australia, prompting the NSW gangs squad to co-ordinate Strike Force Hothersal, which executed the airport bust on Wednesday.
"This has been a comprehensive investigation by a committed team of police officers who kicked off this case then worked in close partnership with their Sydney and interstate colleagues," he said.
"Their work is to be commended."
As part of the operation, raids were also conducted in South Australia and Queensland on Wednesday.
In Adelaide, six people were arrested on serious drug charges in raids across nine properties.
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