National

NSW police arrest 45 in statewide raids

By AAP Newswire

May 27, 2022

A man detained by NSW Police in south-west Sydney — Eighteen people arrested police raids in Sydney on Tuesday are before the courts. -PR Handout Image

Forty five people have been arrested in the latest NSW police raids targeting organised crime.

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Eight firearms, MDMA and other drugs were also seized in the statewide operation launched in the wake of the Taskforce Erebus arrests of 18 people in Sydney on Tuesday.

Detective Superintendent Jason Weinstein says the Operation Hawke sweep involved specialist units and commands across NSW and focused on associates and facilitators of Sydney's organised crime networks.

"This week we've succeeded in demobilising a significant drug supply syndicate operating from Sydney's southwest but also know the tentacles of illicit activity stretch far beyond our cities," he said on Friday.

"NSW attracts around 40 per cent of Australia's national organised crime population - many of whom attempt to evade the attention of police by operating outside of the Sydney metropolitan area."

Police estimate the sale of prohibited drugs in NSW is worth at least $3.7billion a year at street level and is a root cause of the state's recent spate of killings.

"These arrests send a clear message to anyone involved in organised crime; that we are aware of your illicit activities and will hold you accountable irrespective of your location," Det Supt Weinstein said.