A Nigerian in detention has been charged for running a drug ring in Australia.
The 49-year-old was caught in a $9 million drug operation operating out of Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney.
New South Wales Police said the suspect, Dirichukwu Patrick Nweke, used an encrypted messaging service and had established a network of runners outside the centre, who sold large amounts of methylamphetamine and cocaine for him.
During a search of a unit at the detention centre on July 11, police found three mobile phones. Subsequent searches uncovered 2kg of methylamphetamine and $169,000 in cash, which had previously been seized by officers.
Nweke has been charged with multiple offences, including directing a criminal group and supplying a large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs.
Seven hundred and fifty grams of methylamphetamine and 90 grams of heroin had been discovered in a toilet bowl during a search of a home in Liverpool last Wednesday.
Police also recovered $325,000 in cash and an encrypted electronic device.
Nweke’s 24-year-old dealer was arrested and has been charged with supplying illicit drugs, belonging to a criminal group and others.
Detective Superintendent Peter Faux announced the seizures in a press conference on Saturday.
Nweke appeared in Bankstown Local Court on July 12, while the alleged runner faced court on the same day as his arrest.
They were both denied bail.
