Sniffer dogs on highway

[boulder]

VICTORIANS driving into New South Wales may have their cars randomly searched with sniffer dogs.

 

NSW Police Minister Michael Costa will today announce a 12-month trial giving officers sweeping powers to pull over cars and conduct random drug searches on cross-border highways.

 

Police have been concerned about the amount of South Australian cannabis being trafficked into Sydney along the Sturt and Barrier highways.

 

Mr Costa said the trial would also help fight the trade in heroin between Sydney and Melbourne via the Hume.

 

Police would be required to get Supreme Court approval to mount operations of up to 72 hours.

 

The operations must be within 100km from the border, or 150km where

cross-border routes converge.

 

In the past five years, $20 million worth of cannabis, guns and cash has been seized near Hay from the Sturt Highway -- including a cannabis haul of 35kg from a semi-trailer.

 

Herald Sun

[Guest Urbanhog]

Yeah, I made a small posting while ago about QLD coppers have added couple extra sniffers in their sqaud, for drivers coming back from NSW border,it wouldn't surprise me if QLD and NSW coppers and their sniffers got busy along the NSW/QLD border during the Nimbin's Mardi Grass Festival in May. :angry:

 

It might be a good idea for those Queenslanders going to the festival who are planning to bring back some local weed to QLD to stay/camp in the area for couple of days after the festival finishes, or drive back at midnight, etc... where there's less coppers on the highways in the wee hours.

 

Urbanhog http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/sp/chefico.gif

[whynot]

:angry:

 

The longer I am on this earth, the more I realise that it isn't a free world at all.

[boulder]

Just makes it a little difficult to get entries into the cup but a little engenuity will overcome the puppy problem.

[Dr Doug]

A mail order company has these trick little vaccum sealing machine. Use two bags vicks in between them wash it down with alcohol or similar substance(after sealed) make sure the bag wont react with the cleaning agent. I think the mail order company is Danoz Direct I am not sure but there is one in Australia.

[sols]

g'day; this from

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/National/story_45065.asp

 

Police to get tougher search powers

 

 

NSW Police would be given more power to stop and search vehicles entering the state under a 12-month anti-drug smuggling trial, Police Minister Michael Costa said on Friday.

 

Civil liberties groups said the beefed up roadblock powers were another step towards the creation of a police state.

 

But Mr Costa said the move was designed to clear up concerns about the legality of past drug searches based on intelligence that the Sturt Highway was being used to smuggle in drugs and other contraband.

 

"We have had some questions raised in some cases before the courts (about) whether police have grounds for reasonable suspicion when they undertake these searches," Mr Costa told reporters.

 

"What we'll have now is a process in place where there will be no doubt that reasonable suspicion has been obtained."

 

 

 

 

 

Under the trial, police would need a Supreme Court warrant - valid for 72 hours - to search vehicles within 150km of the South Australian and Victorian borders.

 

Drug detection dogs would be used to establish reasonable suspicion, Mr Costa said.

 

"If a dog indicates that they believe the vehicle has illegal drugs in it, that will constitute reasonable suspicion," he said.

 

"We've had reports of people fitting fake petrol tanks into cars to transport illegal drugs.

 

"Clearly, the drug detection dogs will help with this."

 

A bill giving police the new powers would be introduced in the next parliamentary session, Mr Costa said.

 

Opposition Leader John Brogden backed the move but accused the government of being too slow to act on the problem.

 

"This trial (comes) 12 months after the problem was revealed so the government has dragged its feet for 12 months," he told reporters.

 

Mr Costa said police would set up signs notifying motorists there were drug searches ahead.

 

But the NSW Council for Civil Liberties said the proposal seemed to assume people were guilty until proven innocent.

 

"People have got a right to the presumption of innocence and they've also got a right to freedom of movement," council president Cameron Murphy told AAP.

 

"It's another significant step towards NSW, the police state."

 

Mr Murphy said it was unlikely roadblock searches would be confined to vehicles identified in intelligence reports.

 

"This is nothing more than a fishing expedition - it's a gross waste of police resources," he said.

 

 

 

©AAP 2003

[pipeman]

Yeah, I made a small posting while ago about QLD coppers have added couple extra sniffers in their sqaud, for drivers coming back from NSW border,it wouldn't surprise me if QLD and NSW coppers and their sniffers got busy along the NSW/QLD border during the Nimbin's Mardi Grass Festival in May. :angry:

there are a few stories on the Nimbin website about that happening. I won't take a drive down that way to score for that very reason.

 

In fact I'm more worried about having some dirty dog slobbering all over my car rather than getting busted

[boulder]

A mail order company has these trick little vaccum sealing machine. Use two bags vicks in between them wash it down with alcohol or similar substance(after sealed) make sure the bag wont react with the cleaning agent. I think the mail order company is Danoz Direct I am not sure but there is one in Australia.

Thanks for that Dr doug......I have one of those machines and they work a treat..... will try with the vicks.

[Ferre]

But the NSW Council for Civil Liberties said the proposal seemed to assume people were guilty until proven innocent.

 

"People have got a right to the presumption of innocence and they've also got a right to freedom of movement," council president Cameron Murphy told AAP.

 

"It's another significant step towards NSW, the police state."

 

Mr Murphy said it was unlikely roadblock searches would be confined to vehicles identified in intelligence reports.

 

"This is nothing more than a fishing expedition - it's a gross waste of police resources," he said.

 

vote for this dude I would say, Mr Murphy ROCKZ!

[Guest Urbanhog]

I have always been concerned about some South Australian Canabis or any commercial grown pot.

They grow in bulk to fill the Sydney market, but , do they y care about the smokers?

I mean , when your growing on a comercial scale, you cant afford to lose your crop, so there is more at stake.

Which means these commercial growers dont mind using harmful pesticides , carcinegens and other dubious techniques in there growing environment, in order to ensure the crop succeeds.

I mean, how do you know the weed your toking wasnt sprayed with red miticide  or worse a few weeks before harvest?

The only way to REALLY know is to grow your own.

The sooner they reform the laws the safer the world will be.

 

 

 

Regards

 

Pat

is there any test kits? like these kits for testing drugs etc etc.. cheap quick test kits?

 

just curious?

 

Urbanhog http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/sp/chefico.gif