Guns and drugs worth $260 million have been seized in raids on an alleged Southeast Asian gang police say is linked to the horrific killing of a Vietnamese mother and a botched alleged childcare centre hit.
Organised Crime Squad detectives charged three men and allegedly seized three handguns, 287kg of methylamphetamine, 47kg of cocaine, 81kg of heroin, 838g of MDMA, $450,000 in cash, 300 rounds of ammunition and a ballistic vest on Tuesday afternoon.
Five search warrants were executed at alleged safe houses in Mays Hill, where two men were arrested, Bankstown, Campsie, and Bonnyrigg Heights, where a third man was arrested, NSW Police said on Wednesday.
The first two men, Jamey Le Tran, 26, and Edward Huynh, 19 were charged with commercial drug supply and participating in a criminal group. Tran did not apply for bail, and Huynh was refused bail, and both will face Parramatta Local Court in December, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The third man was charged with commercial drug supply and dealing with the proceeds of crime, and granted police bail to appear in Fairfield Local Court in November 27.
Organised Crime Squad Commander Peter Faux said he believed it was “highly likely” the drug syndicate targeted in the raids was linked to an alleged foiled attempt to murder a former gang member outside a Sydney childcare centre last week.
Two aboriginals and a Pacific Islander were dramatically arrested while allegedly on the way to carry out the contract killing.
The same syndicate is believed to be linked to the horrific alleged abduction and murder of mother-of-two Thi Kim Tran, 45, in Bankstown in May, after her alleged methamphetamine cook husband was accused of stealing drugs.
Vietnamese man The Anh Nguyen, 29, was arrested in the same suburb in August and has been charged with murder over Ms Tran’s death, and wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm over the alleged bashing of her eight-year-old son with a baseball bat during the kidnapping.
“We believe there is a number of different silos that are operating on behalf of this organised crime group, which we allege is operated out of southeast Asia,” Mr Faux said.
“The drugs being imported into the country are generating large amounts of money, which generates conflict. The firearms that are coming into the country, that are made overseas, they’re being used around that conflict.”
Header image: Left, right, two of the men arrested, inset, drugs seized (NSW Police).
