Police have charged ten people over the course of a high-visibility anti-knife crime operation in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane.
A total of 71 people were scanned by police at nightlife areas, Ipswich train station, and a local shopping centre.
In one arrest, captured on police body-cams, a 20-year-old man was searched and admitted that he had a roll of knives in his bag.
”I do have a roll of knives that are in there rolled up,” he said.
The man claimed the knives were for his former career as a chef.
Police allege the seven knives they located did not match that description.
Police also allegedly located drug utensils during the search.
He was charged with possessing a knife in a public place.
The 20-year-old is set to face Ipswich Magistrates Court on October 30.
Since Jack’s Law was introduced in Queensland in 2023, police officers are authorised to use a metal detector to scan people for weapons in certain public places like train stations.
In Ipswich, police said 57 weapons have been seized since April last year.
