WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2026
BAYSIDE DRUG BUST $175,000 CASH SEIZED
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■ Two men are facing up to 25 years behind bars over their alleged involvement in a drug trafficking operation spanning Melbourne’s south-east. Police seized $1 million worth of cocaine during early morning raids on Thursday (feb. 26) across several bayside suburbs. From 4am on Thursday, detectives from the Caulfield Divisional Response Unit – with assistance from the Prahran and Mornington Peninsula Divisional Response Units – executed eight search warrants at four homes in Aspendale, Mordialloc and Parkdale; two gyms in Mordialloc and South Melbourne; a storage facility in Braeside, and a factory in Moorabbin. Inside the storage facility, police discovered approximately 3kg of cocaine with an estimated potential street value of $1 million, as well as a handgun with its serial number removed, and a pill press police will allege was being used to manufacture drugs. During the searches, detectives also seized an imitation firearm, $175,000 in cash, and 1kg of boric acid allegedly used in the manufacturing of illicit substances. Two men aged 31 and 35 and a 27-year-old woman – all from Aspendale – were arrested at homes in Aspendale. Both men were charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of cocaine, possessing a firearm and an imitation firearm, and pro-
● Melbourne Magistrates’ Court ceeds of crime. The pair was remanded to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday (Feb. 27). The woman was released pending further enquiries.