MOREE Plains Shire Mayor Katrina Humphries has congratulated officers from the Barwon Local Area Command on their successful investigation, known as Strike Force Cornwalli, into an ongoing illegal supply of a prescription drug in the Moree area.
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A man and a woman were arrested after the drug, a synthetic opioid analgesic drug named fentanyl, was linked to three fatal overdoses and more than 25 reported non-fatal overdoses during the past two years.
“This is a great result and I want to give a big ‘shout out’ to the team lead by Commander, Superintendent Gelina Talbot and her trusty team of drug busters at the Barwon LAC,” said the Mayor.
Councillor Humphries encourages members of the community to be ever vigilant and keep calling Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www1.police.nsw.gov.au
“The more people that come forward to report suspicious activity, drug dealers and users, the more information the police have to effectively deal the issue in our community,” she said.
In the fight against drugs in the community, the mayor is calling for residents to lend their voice to a campaign to get the legislation changed to have drug dealers punished with more severe sentences, like manslaughter and jail time for tax evasion.
“The hard working, law abiding, taxpaying people are frustrated by drug dealers continually re-offending in our community,” Cr Humphries said.
“Sentencing needs to be harsher as drug use and dealing is contributing to the slow death of our community through crime, violence and fatalities.
“We cannot keep doing things the same way and expect a different outcome,” she said.
“Are we prepared to do things differently and be fair dinkum in our desire to reduce drugs in our communities?" she asked.
“The approach needs to be holistic and work from the top down.
“There needs to be sufficient resources available to deal with re-offenders.
“Legislation, laws and the judicial system need to be changed, firstly so they support police in their pursuit of perpetrators and secondly to provide the public with support and encouragement to come forward with information.”
