In a first for the NSW Police Force, Criminal Group Squad detectives have shut down 26 alleged drug runner phone numbers connected to more than 50,000 potential customers as part of Strike Force Wessex.
The Strike Force was established by State Crime Command squad in April last year to investigate alleged criminal groups involved in drug supply using drug run or ‘dial-a-dealer’ phones across Sydney.
To date, the investigation has involved a number of operational phases, which began with attempting to identify the mobile phone retailers allegedly supplying fraudulent SIM cards.
Detectives then worked to identify and recover some of the drug run phones (pictured below) from a number of alleged dealers.
“Eight phones which were physically seized and a total of 26 phone numbers were identified as being used by alleged criminal syndicate members to run drugs, with a combined potential customer database of 50,000 people,” NSW Police said in a statement.
Police will allege some of the phone numbers – who were known to their contacts only by names such as ‘Dior, ‘Tommy’ and ‘Ricky’ – have been in operation for up to 10 years.
“With the assistance from the Forensic Evidence & Technical Services Command and various telecommunication networks, as of today, all 26 of those phone numbers have been shut down,” Police said.
Before the phone numbers were disabled, approximately 50,000 identified contacts of the phone numbers were sent a text message to alert them to the fact their number was linked to an alleged drug running phone.
The text message to customers read, “The NSW Police Force: Strike Force Wessex has identified this number engaging with an organised crime drug supply ‘dial-a-dealer’ phone. If this continues you may be subject to further investigation. Cease all contact now.”
Detective Superintendent Grant Taylor said this was one of the first times police have used this technology to dismantle criminal syndicates and their activities.
“Exploiting new technological capabilities, and using our relationship with various Australian telecommunication companies, we’ve been able to shut down these phones that were running up to millions of dollars’ worth of drugs per week – anything from cannabis to cocaine to ice,” Det Supt Taylor said.
“But phase one was just the beginning. Now we’ve disrupted the dealers’ direct line to their customers, we can turn our attention to those at the top – the criminal syndicate controlling these phones and we’ll be coming after them next.”
