Police have seized 15kg of drug-laced lollipops and gummy bears and charged three people after a raid at a NSW property.
The trio, two men and a woman, were part of a criminal syndicate, which made more than $1.6m in cryptocurrency supplying illegal drugs on the dark web, police will allege.
Search warrants were carried out at two properties at Swansea, on the Central Coast, along with a storage facility at Caves Beach.
A man and woman – aged 47 and 42 – were arrested at a home on Lakeside Drive at Swansea and taken to Belmont Police Station.
A short time later, a 30-year-old man was arrested at a home on George Street and taken to Toronto Police Station.
In total, more than 100 litres of THC-based chemicals, 15kg of lollipops believed to be laced with a prohibited drug and electronic devices were among items seized.
THC is the main psychoactive component of cannabis.
Cybercrime Squad Commander, Detective Acting Superintendent Gordon Arbinja, said the charges should serve as a warning to anyone aiming to conduct crimes on the dark web.
“These arrests should serve as a warning to those using the internet toxjmtzyw conceal criminal activity: your anonymity is not guaranteed, and you aren’t outside the reach of law enforcement,” he said.
“During the course of this investigation, we identified more than $1.6 million in cryptocurrency, which was derived from the sale of these drugs on the dark web, travel directly into the bank accounts of those arrested yesterday.”
