A stolen Holden Commodore is one of many items seized during raids on multiple properties in Melbourne last week, though it’s not what will get the mainstream headlines.
On Thursday, March 20, officers from the Caulfield Divisional Response Unit, Mornington Peninsula and Moorabbin Crime Investigation Units and the Dog Squad executed warrants in Braeside, Hampton, Moorabbin, and Port Melbourne, following a five-month investigation into drug trafficking.
According to Victoria Police, a search of an automotive centre on Chesterville Road, Moorabbin uncovered two vehicles, one of which was a Holden Commodore allegedly stolen from Dandenong a fortnight ago – just one of many vehicles being targeted in the current epidemic of vehicle thefts in Victoria.
Also at the address was a trailer and boat, both allegedly stolen from Carrum Downs in April 2023.
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A Commodore seized in a previous arrest
Unfortunately, vehicle theft is at a record high in Victoria, and valuable cars such as late-model, Australian-built Holden Commodores are among those being targeted by criminals.
While some Commodores and other stolen cars are being rebirthed, a number of them are being used to commit other crimes, as appears to have been the case here.
As a part of the raids last week, police allegedly located approximately 1kg of MDMA – valued at about $250,000 – at a Hampton home, also seizing quantities of cocaine, ketamine and steroids, along with fraudulent identification and several prohibited weapons, a ballistics vest, and multiple rounds of ammunition.
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Some stolen Holdens are stripped soon after being taken
At another home in Port Melbourne, an imitation AK-47, quantities of cocaine, MDMA, multiple vials and packets of testosterone, and electronic devices were seized.
A raid on a factory in Braeside led to the seizure of two commercial pill press machines and other equipment consistent with the manufacture of drugs, as well as 55 cannabis plants, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and ammunition.
Four men aged between 18 and 53 were arrested, with the eldest trio bailed to appear in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on 6 June, while the youngest was released pending summons for weapons-related offences.
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