A real estate executive, tradies, a professional gambler and students – these are some of the average Aussies charged as part of a massive police operation targeting alleged ‘dial-a-dealer’ drug rings.
Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal that the NSW Police Force has charged 187 Sydney residents and seized more than $250,000 cash and 633g of cocaine as part of huge pre-Christmas sting named Operation Northrop.
The police operation allegedly netted up to $280,000 worth of coke, heroin, mushrooms, LSD tabs and cannabis gummies in busts across suburbs ranging from Surry Hills to Zetland, Newtown to Ramsgate and Narwee to Kellyville.
As part of the operation, over the past two months, some 101 people have been hit with drug supply charges, another 82 charged with possession, a further three charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime, and another person charged over an alleged domestic violence-related incident.
Maddison Lowry, 20, (pictured) was arrested on Kent Street in Sydney’s CBD on December 9. Police will allege she was found with 26 bags of cocaine and $4075 in cash
Lowry covered her face as she sat on the ground while police inspected her car. She was later handcuffed and placed in the back of a vehicle
Vanessa Reeve, a senior project engineer, has been given a court attendance notice after allegedly attempting to buy cocaine
Mariam Deng covers her face as she sits in the gutter after being arrested by police in Randwick on December 9
Deng, from Erskine Park in the city’s west, was allegedly found with 23 bags of cocaine and $850 cash
During one bust, an alleged dealer’s car was seen littered with $50 notes in what was understood to be the proceeds of a dial-a-dealer cocaine syndicate
A child’s car seat was found in the back of one alleged dealer’s cars
Police allegedly found drug paraphernalia including scales – plus a knife and a container of Raging Bull ‘male enhancement formula’ – in this Nike backpack, during a raid in Narwee, in Sydney’s south
Sydneysiders from all walks of life – including financiers, bankers, sales managers, a stockbroker, a radiologist, an architect, an environmental scientist, and an agronomist – are among the dozens slapped with court notices after allegedly dealing or possessing drugs.
Vanessa Reeve, 51 – a Senior Project Engineer at a construction company – was charged after she was allegedly caught purchasing drugs from Mariam Deng, 19, in Randwick in the city’s eastern suburbs.
Police will allege Reeve was sitting in the passenger seat when they pulled over a Kia, driven by Deng, on Marcel Avenue about 5.45pm on December 9.
A search of the vehicle – which had a baby seat in the back along with a discarded KFC bag – allegedly uncovered 23 bags of cocaine and $850 in cash.
Those who texted the number of the alleged syndicate received this message from NSW Police detectives
A man is placed into the back of a police vehicle after being arrested in Narwee on Thursday
Kristy Blaylock and Christopher Swami (red jumper) were arrested after allegedly being found in the possession of drugs in Sydney’s CBD
The Erskine Park teenager Deng was charged with three counts of drug supply and deal with property proceeds of crime and was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Waverley Local Court on January 17, while Reeve was issued a notice to appear at court at a later date.
Earlier that evening, Maddison Lowry, 20, was driving a Honda Civic along Kent Street, in the CBD, when she was pulled over by officers about 3.40pm.
Police searched the car and allegedly found 26 bags of cocaine and $4075 in cash, subsequently charging the Villawood woman with two counts of drug supply and deal with property proceeds of crime.
She was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sharif Nouh, a 53-year-old from Greenacre, will face court next week after he was allegedly found later that evening with 21 bags of cocaine and $1560 cash.
Police will allege the illicit substances were found during a search of Nouh’s Mitsubishi Outlander on Pitt Street about 9.15pm last Friday.
Photos taken at the scene show an officer handcuffing Nouh and escorting him to a vehicle as other cops looked through his car – which had a disability sticker stuck to the inside of the front windscreen.
Just around the corner, police arrested two men 45minutes later after stopping an Audi on Bond Street and allegedly 14 bags of cocaine, 10 MDMA pills and $600 cash inside the car.
Adrian Amaro, 22, and his passenger Brendon Edralin, 22, were both charged with deal with the property proceeds of crime, while the driver is also facing three counts of drug supply.
A third man, who was arrested nearby, was issued a Court Attendance Notice for possess prohibited drug.
A man sits in the gutter after being arrested after drugs were allegedly found inside his vehicle
Adrian Amaro, 22, (left) and Brendon Edralin, 22, (right) sit on the ground after being arrested after drugs were allegedly uncovered in a car they were travelling in
The two men were stopped by police as they drove along Bond Street in an Audi
Both men were granted strict conditional bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on 20 December.
The back-to-back arrests on Friday follow a series of alleged major coke busts across November that saw several high-flying businessmen charged with alleged drug offences.
On November 17, police pulled over a 31-year-old male driver on Hickson Road, in Kellyville, in the city’s northwest, just after 3.20pm after allegedly noticing him acting suspiciously.
Investigators allegedly found three bags of cocaine in his car and then executed a warrant at a nearby home, where they seized a further 25g of cocaine and $70,595 cash.
One man, believed to be a professional gambler, was handcuffed at the home and taken to Castle Hill Police Station, where he was charged with two counts of drug supply, supplying a prohibited drug on an ongoing basis and recklessly deal with proceeds of crime.
He is due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday.
The following week, Moamman Hamadi, 22, was arrested on Friday 25 November after officers stopped and searched a Hyundai on Harrington Street, Sydney, and allegedly located 14 bags of cocaine and $2250 in cash.
Meanwhile, Harinder Randhawa, 44, was stopped and searched nearby and allegedly found with six bags of cocaine.
A man was arrested in Ramsgate after allegedly being found in the possession of cocaine
A man sits on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back after being arrested over his alleged involvement in a dial-a-dealer ring
The Raby man was arrested and charged with two counts of drug supply and deal with property proceeds of crime while Ms Randhawa was issued with a Court Attendance Notice.
They are both due to appear in Downing Centre Local Court early next year.
The following night, high-flying property developer Matthew Hyder, 43, was charged after he was allegedly found in possession of five bags of cocaine when police pulled over a Volkswagon on Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill, about 7.30pm.
However the driver – 19-year-old Heron Ayoub – was hit with heavier charges – including two counts of supply prohibited drug, knowingly deal with proceeds of crime and deal with property proceeds of crime – after officers allegedly located 11 bags of cocaine and $1500 in cash.
Ayoub is due to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Friday 23 December.
A real estate agent, 27, was sentenced to two 11-month community corrections orders in May after pleading guilty to supplying a small amount of cocaine in Kings Cross last year.
Now, he has been dealt another date in court next week after he was allegedly found behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla on Wyanbar Road, Cronulla, about 9.15pm on Saturday December 3, with cocaine and $3040 in cash.
His passenger Hugo Portan, 53, was also found with cocaine and ordered to appear in court in January 2023.
Strike Force Northrop – launched in September 2017 to investigate and combat the ongoing supply of cocaine across Sydney – initiated targeted operations throughout November and December as part of ongoing investigations.
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Investigators were assisted throughout the operation by officers from Eastern Beaches, Eastern Suburbs, Inner West, Kings Cross, Leichhardt, South Sydney, St George, Sutherland Shire, Surry Hills and Sydney City Police Area Commands.
Sharif Nouh, 53, was arrested on Pitt Street after he was found with 21 bags of cocaine and $1560 cash
Wads of cash, a phone, and drugs sit on the seat of an alleged dial-a-dealer’s car
Detective Acting Inspector Matthew Crematy searches a car in Sydney’s CBD as Strike Force Northrop operations target drug supply chains across the city
Detectives collect several bags of cocaine seized from an alleged dealer’s car to pack away as evidence
Nouh is pictured being placed into the back of a car in Sydney’s CBD on Friday
Redfern Region Enforcement Squad Commander Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Bell said drug use and distribution was an issue for society as a whole.
Detective Chief Inspector Bell vowed to put Sydneysiders who allegedly engage in drug supply before the courts.
‘We are proud of our efforts and we are deeply concerned about the insatiable demand for cocaine,’ he said.
Detective Chief Inspector Bell said Operation Northrop is not only targeting alleged suppliers but also members of the community who are caught seeking out drug suppliers or in possession of substances.
By arresting drug controllers, police gain access to their phones and are able to find and contact their customers as they continue to work to track down players operating at the higher levels of supply networks.
‘We are continuing to see more criminal enterprises using the Dial-a-Dealer methodology’ he said.
‘If you are out there, dealing drugs during the holiday season you will be arrested and put before the courts.’
Anyone with information about the supply of prohibited drugs and other criminal activities in their community is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
