Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jan 1999 Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Contact: Website: http://www.smh.com.au/ Author: Greg Bearup BLITZ ON HIGHWAY PUSHERS Police target drug cars Police have intercepted millions of dollars' worth of drugs and cash by targeting vehicles en route from Sydney to markets in Melbourne and Adelaide. In the past 14 months police from the Southern River Regions have intercepted more than 70 vehicles along the Hume and Sturt highways carrying a "trafficable amount" of heroin, cocaine, amphetamines or cannabis. They have laid hundreds of charges. The police have seized more than 200 kilograms of cannabis, $510,000 in cash, almost five kilograms of heroin and cocaine and more than 2,000 ecstasy tablets. Intelligence from State and Federal police indicates most of the drugs imported into Australia come into Sydney for distribution to the rest of the country by road. Superintendent John Carey, from Albury, said his officers had been using new powers to stop and search suspicious vehicles - with good success. In an incident on Thursday afternoon, typical of the arrests so far, a highway patrol vehicle which had just finished conducting routine speed checks pulled from the side of the road and in behind a rented Magna sedan, 30 kilometres north of Albury. The vehicle's occupants were acting nervously and kept turning to check on the police car behind them. That was enough for police to pull over and search the vehicle. After they found $12,000 cash in a handbag belonging to one of the occupants, a more thorough search revealed two packages stashed behind the seat containing 750 grams of heroin. A couple from Preston in Victoria were charged with trafficking heroin. "Our officers have been told to look out for suspicious vehicles travelling on both the Sturt and Hume highways as they are the major trafficking routes," Superintendent Carey said. "Often the vehicles have been stopped whilst speeding and the drivers have acted strangely, and many of the vehicles have been hire cars." He said police had been using powers under the Crimes Act and various pieces of drug legislation which allowed them to stop, detain and search vehicles suspected of carrying drugs. Their powers had been enhanced by the Police Powers (Vehicles) Act, which came into effect this month. Superintendent Carey said a number of innocent motorists had been stopped, detained and searched in the blitz but generally people had been fairly understanding. "It is generally the ones who have drugs on board that kick up a stink," he said. He added: "We have got a fairly high strike rate on the vehicles that we have targeted." - --- MAP posted-by: Rich O'Grady