Nimbin crowd turns out to support ‘Lane Boys’

[MongyMan]

http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/nimbin-crowd-turns-out-to-support-lane-boys/3059235/

 

 

 

Nimbin crowd turns out to support ‘Lane Boys’

Marc Stapelberg | 9th Jul 2016 3:00 PM

 

Nimbin locals particpate in a protest against recent raids by NSW police officers in Nimbin resulting in the arrests of 11 people. Photo Marc Stapelberg / The Northern Star Marc Stapelberg

 

 

Nimbin Arrest Protest: A crowd turned out in Nimbin to protest arrests made on the 29 June in Nimbin as a result of raids.

 

More than a 100 people turned out in Nimbin shouting 'Free the Boys' and calling on police to 'explain' themselves following the arrest of 11 people in Nimbin two weeks ago.

A giant medicinal cannabis bottle was carried down the street following different speakers and speeches at the location where the iconic Rainbow Cafe used to be.

Calls for a 'cannabis revolution', 'the insanity to end', and 'time to take our town back' were answered with cheers and further cries of 'Free the Boys'.

Hemp Party secretary Andrew Kavasilas reminded the crowd of the importance putting pressure on the political parties and how impressed he was by the Nimbin community.

The crowd congregated outside the front of the police station with a handful of protestors walking down the pathway to speak into the police intercom at the front door.

The police station looked abandoned with no vehicles, the blinds shut, garage doors closed, and front door closed.

The crowd dispersed quietly leaving a pink chalk monika 'Free our Boys' on the ground in front of the station.

Sophia Hoeben from the Nimbin Action Group said the 'Lane Boys' are a valuable part of community because they are supplying a leaf that provides valuable pain relief.

Ms Hoeben said she had seen the 'boys' give terminal cancer patients without money free cannabis.

"It doesn't make any sense that they are hardened criminals," she said.

"Hardened criminals don't do that."

"They've been helping people all along."

"The police don't really come and talk to us, they just tell you to get down on the ground with their guns."

"We are all on the side of the boys, and lot of people feel that it is time to stop these overkills of police in Nimbin - breaking our economy, breaking our backs."

"People were shocked."

"There is no way these boys sell hard drugs.

"I know all those boys and I've seen them chase away ice dealers.

"They havebeen policing this town away from the hard drugs."

On the 28 June, police from Strike Force Cuppa seized almost $1 million worth of drugs, including 5kg of cannabis, MDMA tablets, methyl amphetamine (ice), two firearms, and a range of prohibited weapons including an electronic stun gun, defensive spray and a slingshot during the raids.

More than $55,000 in cash was also seized.

Police have alleged that those involved were Gold Coast "gangsters" who allegedly sold drugs in Nimbin to support their lavish lifestyle.

The crime manager said the operation, dubbed Strike Force Cuppa, was part of an ongoing operation into what police will allege is the commercial supply of illegal drugs in the Northern Rivers.

"Police will allege the targets of this operation are living a gangster lifestyle within the Gold Coast area supported by the dealing of primarily cannabis from what we call the Laneway at Nimbin," he said.

"(They're) living in lavish-style houses unsupported by any form of income, any form of work, frequenting casinos, flash cars and the like."

Insp Lindsay said the raids were part of an ongoing investigation and further arrests were anticipated.

"It has been going on for a long period of time and partly assisted by the dob-in-a-dealer campaign where we've received significant amounts of information from the public," he said.

Strike force officers were also in attendance at the Ballina Byron Gateway Airport as part of the investigation.

Police will allege more than 100gms of the drug ice was discovered during the search warrants in Queensland.

Insp Detective chief inspector Lindsay said the arrests, in addition to those made in previous weeks, would have an impact on drug dealing operations on the Northern Rivers.

 

[Faith]

Listen to them trying to turn Aussie against aussie 'dob in a drug dealer'  Same with 'terror' bullshit line. The thing we have to fear the most in this country is our inept and/or corrupt government for and of the people.   Why do we still put our trust in them? Devil you know?  are we still convicts? We act like it.  What is inherently virtuous about our government or system as practiced?  Our country?  Where has the Aussie gone?  Into an Iphone?  My old country showed us what would happen and we scoffed..still scoffin 'she'll be right'  It ain't right.  Apathetic lazy fools we have become.  Come on now go let's bow to the god economy and their priests the government. 

 

Faith

[..............................]

 

http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/caught-on-cctv-cops-filmed-nimbin-drug-laneway-for/3055238/

 

 

CAUGHT ON CCTV: Cops filmed Nimbin drug laneway for 6 months

 

 

COVERT video surveillance of Rainbow Ln, taken over a six-month period, was one of several investigative methods used by police to arrest 11 people at Nimbin on Tuesday.

 

Lismore police Chief Inspector Nicole Bruce said police used a number of methods to gain intelligence on alleged drug dealing at Nimbin.

 

Ten of the 11 men arrested have since been granted conditional bail.

 

Police bail forms before Lismore Local Court this week revealed one of the methods police used as part of Strike Force Cuppa.

 

“Police have extended and clear video footage obtained via a Supreme Court warrant that show the accused’s activity,” was the reason police initially denied some of the accused bail.

 

Charges showed the video surveillance had been conducted between January 31 and when the arrests were made on June 28.

 

Locals were outraged in 2005 when five CCTV cameras were installed in Nimbin’s Cullen St.

 

The cameras send live footage back to Nimbin police station.

 

Nimbin Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone said the use of covert video surveillance over six months around Rainbow Ln was “scary”.

 

 

“I think the community is going to be horrified when they find out that police have been filming Rainbow Ln since January,” he said.

 

“Probably more arrests are going to come.

 

“The sad bit is those boys do more policing of Nimbin than the police themselves.

 

“They’re responsible for Nimbin having way less ice than virtually any other country town.

 

“At some point there has to be some separation of cannabis away from the other illegal drugs because cannabis is completely different.

 

“It’s a dried herb compared to all these chemicals and pills.”

 

Mr Balderstone said ‘The Lane Boys’ often helped people who required medicinal cannabis.

 

“I’ve seen those boys giving away large amounts of cannabis for free to people who desperately need it for medical purposes.”

 

He said he felt sorry for the police involved in the raids.

 

“At some point police should be given some discretion, some freedom when dealing with cannabis.”

 

“At the moment cannabis is classed as being in the same basket as ice, which is just crazy.

 

“The thing we are all sad about is that Rainbow Ln used to be a problem, but now it’s got a lot of integrity attached to it because people use scales and give honest deals, which never used to happen.”

[billygoat]

Interesting.

 

They were caught with a significant amount of drugs and cash, which included ice.

 

Yet, they are being praised for keeping ice out of the town?... All in the same article.

 

To protect their own interests ?

 

Personally, I fail to sympathise with the accused.

[Serrated edge]

Someone should employ my security services ,ill chase those ice freaks down the Main Street armed only with metre long Budbattons,

I'm serious . You gotta employ me If you don't I could end up on the scrap heap ,another ice freak .But hey, that's not so bad, at least I would know where to get my ice weighed.

[Rahrah1]

I agree with Billygoat.  The police claim to have siezed more than $1 Million. Take $40,000 out of that for the canna, that leaves app $960,000 left. Must have been a lot of MDA tabs and ice to make up the diff.

They only chase out other ice dealers to protect there interests as Billygoat said. People like these are the ones that have stuffed not only Nimbin but countless other country towns. They also make it hard to argue for the legalisation of canna.

Have no pity whatsoever for these cxxxx. The prob is, when there's that amount of money involved, there place will soon be replaced by someone else.

[Sir PsychoHashy]

I'm finding it hard to quite come to terms with this as I haven't closely followed the reality of Nimbin for many years, and I also tend to take a fairly cynical view of what the coppers release to the media as being highly politicised hype.  I also believe that there's likely a bit of politics involved in the instigation of the operation.

 

But I'm still finding it hard not to call "Bullshit" on the stuff being spouted by the Nimbin Hemp Embassy over this.  They're not arguing that they weren't drug dealers, yet they expect us to believe they are saints and valued members of the community.  But the bit I'm struggling with the most is the claims that they are anti ice, and that the town is comparitively unaffected by ice. 

 

Way less ice, and these dealers not dealing ice, I want to call bullshit on those claims even though I've been out of the Nimbin loop for a long time.  I'd call it common knowledge, others would call it rumours, but those rumours in the past were that the town had a number of smack addicts who were growing weed (and not overly well) and selling it to support their habits.  I have also gotten on twice in the Lane back in the day, and the people involved, and their feral abodes, reeked of junkie.  Now having heard rumours about there being ice addicts there now, and also finding it hard to believe that the place is a lot less feral than it used to be, I'm struggling to believe that the popo's version isn't closer to the truth, and I don't like thinking that way.  On top of that, a laneway considered a place to rock up to to buy drugs, only other place I've known of fitting that bill was the road one block behind the main drag of Cabramatta next to the train station, nothing like any caring community minded hippie pot dealers I've ever met.

 

I would be happy to hear that I'm wrong.  But if the Hemp Embassy wants to promote their towns image for tourists maybe they should get all the true potheads to band together and run the junkies out of town and keep them out, leaving a core group of passionate growers and smokers.  At least then they could try and strike a deal with the local coppers to take a milder view to the harmless drug use going on in town.

 

Having said that, these guys were dealing for profit, and should have been aware of the possible consequences, so either way they don't deserve sympathy.

[Jagged]

Busted with ice as well? FUCK EM!

[MongyMan]

[oldfark]

Up until recently I'd never been to nimbin . On my first visit I was unable to get out of my car because said dealers were in my window!

As my wife and I were enjoying the village we came to notice certain young people quite noticeably effected by crystal!.

 

As for in door grown inferior you are dreaming . Not everyone uses Vietnamese criminal rubbish!

Sick people do what they have to indoor or out.dont tell us our indoor is crap Michael that is plain ignorant .

I have seen much inferior grade out door cannabis come from your locality ,a lot of it to weak to have much medical benefit.

All due respect mr bald and stoned nimbin is a lovely place but it is not the centre of the cannabis universe!✌️