Police have arrested 10 people in eight days as part of an investigation into a meth trafficking syndicate in Geelong and south-west Victoria.
On March 30, police arrested six people during early morning raids in Warrnambool, Geelong and Melbourne's western suburbs, followed by a further four Warrnambool residents on April 6.
Police said the first raids uncovered about $500,000 worth of methylamphetamine, almost $200,000 in cash, three luxury vehicles worth about $400,000, a Kenworth truck, four motorbikes, two handguns, a shotgun, and two silencers.
This week's raids in Warrnambool uncovered more meth, cash and weapons, as well as quantities of the drug GHB, police said.
Several people have already faced court since their arrests and have been remanded to appear at a later date, including a 31-year-old Warrnambool man, a 32-year-old Highton man, a 30-year-old Point Cook man, a 34-year-old Point Cook man, a 30-year-old Warrnambool man, and a 50-year-old Warrnambool woman.
Others have been released on bail, while some have been released pending further enquiries.
The arrests are the culmination of a four-month-long investigation into ice trafficking in south-west Victoria.
Zero tolerance
Western Region Crime Squad Detective Sergeant Jade Gercovich said the raids aimed to disrupt and dismantle a drug trafficking syndicate.
"We will continue to mercilessly target those trafficking horrific substances such as methylamphetamine within our community," Sergeant Gercovich said.
"Every day police see firsthand the damage caused by illicit drugs in our community — the drug-fuelled driver who has killed an innocent motorist, the thief who has stolen a car or broken into a home to feed their addiction, and the household ravaged by family violence linked to drug abuse.
"We have zero tolerance for drug traffickers and the associated penalties, including more than a decade in a prison cell, are irreversibly life-changing."
