 I'm Mark Slater and I'm the Executive Inspector in charge of the State Drug Investigation Unit in Brisbane. So you've wrapped up Operation Ice Soldier? Yeah, we have today. There's been a closure phase of the operation today and also yesterday and that's been the culmination of about 11 months of intensive work by detectives from the local area here on the Sunshine Coast and also the State Drug Investigation Unit. Tell us what you see and how many people you arrested because obviously this would be a big operation. We look over all throughout the 11 months including the closures yesterday and today. A total of 39 persons have been charged with 117 offences at this stage. There's still a lot of work going on out there today and there'll be continuing work in the coming weeks and we'd expect some more arrests as that work continues. Has there been a street value put on the amount of drug seized? At this stage the value of drugs is just short of $2 million and that includes the seizures over the last couple of days plus also during the course of the operation and we would expect some more as the operation continues. What's the type of drugs? Generally the majority of arrests have taken place in the North Coast regions. Earlier throughout the course of the operation people have been identified in other areas and enforcement actions have been taken in relation to those people. How many drugs and what types of drugs have you seized? We've seized drugs across the spectrum. The majority of seizures relate to cannabis but there's also been some seizures in relation to amphetamines, ecstasy and some GHB and steroids. Is it fair to say this is $2 million worth of drugs that will be off Sunshine Coast or these sort of streets up North? That's right, you can say that. Definitely it's been a significant seizure for us and will have a big impact on the local market. Is it mainly sort of took off from the public that you rely on to do raids like this? We rely on a range of things as far as our operations are concerned. Certainly information which does come from the public from time to time but also work that's generated from other operations that the local detectives are performing here and also work that we're doing in Brisbane. Can you tell us about what you seized yesterday? The major seizure yesterday was approximately 537 plants from an area at Condale and a 25 year old Condale man was charged with trafficking in relation to that seizure plus other matters that have come to light during the investigation. Was that one of the largest seizures during this operation? It has been, yes. Have you mainly found on rural properties is that where you find the drug labs? Generally, labs are found in various types of locations rural, semi-rural that can be in residential premises or business premises across the state. Are we getting smarter in the way that they try and hide things from you? It's probably hard to say. Obviously, when we talk about clandestine labs I mean people want to keep those types of things covert from us but with the work that we are currently doing particularly a lot of the good work that's happening here in the North Coast region we've been quite fortunate that we've been able to seize as many as we have in the last 12 months, two years. We were named as one of the, I think it was, the North Coast was the highest drug area. Is this operation sort of attributing to that because you're uncovering these operations? Look, in terms of lab seizures certainly from a material that's appeared in the media recently there is a high proportion of labs located in this region but that's probably indicative of the population that you have here and the majority of drug labs have been located in the higher population areas in the South East corner. Where are the hotspots for drugs on the coast? Look, I wouldn't exactly say that you could identify any particular hotspots that are of major concern but certainly where we do get information about drugs out there in the community either from a local level or with the assistance from state crime we look into that and take action where it's appropriate. There was a marijuana drug bust recently is it sort of getting more common to find cannabis plants rather than other types of drugs? Look, all types of drugs are found all the time so it's through the good work that the police are doing across the state that we had these seizures. When did the Brisbane Drug Squad come on board with this? We came on board in September in 2010 after the local detectives here at Mauritidore with their drug enforcement team kicked off the operation in June 2010 I believe. Certainly it's been talked about as being one of the biggest here on the Sunshine Coast and obviously some work done by our local police here to get that, to get those tips. What would you have to say about the work that was done here by our local detectives? Certainly the major contributing factor towards the results here today were from the good work that started here with the local drug enforcement team. The resources that we have at state crime particularly at the drug squad our commitment right across the state is to support the regions in dealing with the drug trade in Queensland. How many police altogether have been involved in this operation? About a hundred police in the last two days, yeah. And you're able to say like Western suburbs like an old mansion conundale like between where and where? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Morris, Carlos, M-A-U-R-I-C Carlos, C-A-R-L-E-D-S, Detective Superintendent, Regional Crime Coordinated North-Gas Region. Can you list the areas where you have found drugs like from the North of the South? Well, our area covers between Redcliffe to Bundaberg including those districts and there's no one area that creates any greater problem for us than any others. We seem to find drugs across the spectrum of the region but also across the spectrum of the population. So it's difficult to pinpoint one place. How big would you describe this operation? It's been going for a very long time. Obviously it's not a lot of success. It is. It's certainly a large operation and it's down to the dedication of other detectives and they've proven the success of their work through the results of this operation. In terms of its size per head, there have been a number of operations of similar size but certainly this is one of the most successful in terms of outcomes and results. When's the next one then? Well, of course, this is an ongoing struggle. It's only part of a larger strategy to fight what is a difficult thing for society but enforcement will continue and it will be continued in a vigorous way in this region. For the Sunshine Coast community who are hearing about this today and certainly with cannabis, we hear about it so often being out there there might be the perception that cannabis may be one of the more minor drugs. Tell the community how this is going to impact and how it will help protect them. Well, it's difficult for us to pinpoint exactly the effects of these things and we've seen our road told. It's difficult to predict how much of that may have been attributable to drugs whether it's marijuana or ecstasy or any of the others. These do have an effect and those deaths could be prevented in some circumstances. Now that on top of suicides and other mental health concerns surely must indicate that this is a thing we must attack and we attack a vigorous here in this region. From a local angle, $2 million worth of drugs. That's pretty awesome for the Sunshine Coast area which is quite small. It is and it's something that concerns us and that's why the Sunshine Coast District and other districts in this region have taken such a vigorous stance against such crimes. Obviously the public purse has impacted where that sort of money is floating around in the community untaxed and untouched. What would you like to say through us I guess and to the community about the detectives, your detectives who have helped get this $2 million drug bust? Well, like the detectives across the spectrum these offices have worked very hard for a long time and their success has shown here today in these results and whilst this is only part of the larger strategy I think the enforcement and the people of the Sunshine Coast District will be very confident in the enforcement action that's been taken to prevent these drugs getting onto the street. Have you been surprised by some of the larger falls that you've got like yesterday and conned out 537 plans since a small operation that's huge, that's drug trafficking? Yeah it is and we're disappointed that that continues but we're not surprised given the work that's been done since June 2010 on this operation and it is as I say the culmination of a lot of work so in that respect I think it's good to see the outcomes of that but it's disappointing in terms of the ongoing attitude that some people have to drugs. Can you give us an idea of what we found that's in the shots of Montville today? There was a number of places on the hinterland where seizures of cannabis and other powder drugs and speed and other drugs have been located and obviously our concern is that those get onto the street and they affect our young people and drivers and so forth and we're determined to do what we can to stop it. What's your message to I guess other people who are in this industry who might happen to be watching? Well of course this is an ongoing process it has been ongoing for many years and I think the results of the day should make those people think carefully about whether or not this is a hit industry to be in it's something that we will continue to vigorously pursue and there will be no later on.