TOOTHLESS POLICE AND DRUGS HIGHWAY

POLICE powers are under scrutiny after the seizure of more than $20 million
worth of cannabis, guns and cash on what is being described as NSW's "drugs
highway".

A Daily Telegraph investigation has revealed 370kg of cannabis has been
found in vehicles travelling on the Sturt Highway from South Australia in
the past five years ­ but even more could have been seized but for weak
laws governing car searches.

A glaring contradiction gives random search powers to Department of
Agriculture officers but denies the same powers to police.

In some Riverina areas, agriculture inspectors can stop and search any
vehicle and seize suspect produce to stop fruit fly coming into the state.

Yet NSW drug laws mean police must instead use random breath tests or
traffic offences to pull over a vehicle.

From there, they can only search the vehicle if there is "reasonable
suspicion" drugs are inside ­ for example the smell of cannabis ­ or they
gain permission from the driver.

Residents of Hay on the Sturt Highway call the route the "drugs highway"
after watching dozens of people caught trying to smuggle drugs into NSW.

Smugglers, using mostly hire cars and crossing the border at night, have
designed elaborate means ­ such as fake petrol tanks ­ to hide their haul.

In the biggest seizure, police allegedly intercepted a prime mover outside
Hay carrying 35kg of cannabis.

Last week at Hay Local Court alone, 21 people were convicted for
trafficking marijuana across the South Australia-NSW border.

Hay Mayor Michael Rutledge said the town, and local police had had a
"gutful" of the drug smuggling through the area.

Mr Rutledge said that police were only able to intercept "about 1 per cent"
of cannabis coming through the area.

He said residents wanted to see police given the power to conduct random
drug searches, similar to those given to the fruit fly inspectors.

"The do it for drink-driving, they stop people for that . . . why can't
they search for drugs," he said.

He said in the past two years the problem was particularly evident.

"The town's had a gutful of people going from Adelaide to Sydney dropping
off drugs along the way," he said.

Police Minister Michael Costa will ask for an urgent report from Acting
Police Commissioner Ken Moroney on police powers to search vehicles for drugs.

Police from the southern region have been conducting Operation Herford on
the Sturt Highway at Hay for the past five years.

May 6:

Southern Rivers Region operations manager Inspector Michael Rochester said
Herford was firstly aimed at preventing road fatalities, then detecting
drug smuggling.

He said the Sturt had been identified as a major source of cannabis
trafficking by criminal groups from South Australia into NSW.

Under the operation, police set up random breath testing for up to 72-hour
periods along the Sturt near Hay and pulled people over, then conduct drug
searches.

One drug smuggler caught in the net, Troy Claude Leonard, 33, fought the
power of police to search his vehicle ­ despite him giving initial consent.
On April 20, 2000, he was pulled up by an RBT and breath-tested.

He then agreed to a search when the officer told him: "Sir, we have a lot
of illegal substances that are being transported along the Sturt Highway,
particularly in hire vehicles such as these.

"What I would like to do is conduct a search of the vehicle in your
presence . . . for any such substances or illegal drugs."

The search located 6.006kg of cannabis inside his vehicle and he was
charged. But then his lawyer argued this evidence should not be admitted
because he did not give informed consent ­ he did not know he could say no.

But the NSW Supreme Court in September last year granted prosecutors leave
to appeal against this, saying his consent was informed.

Leonard pleaded guilty to possessing and trafficking a prohibited drug in
Hay court last week.

Hay police prosecutor Sergeant John Pearce said the Leonard decision, which
allowed 30 other drugs cases put on hold to proceed through Hay court this
week, was a step forward for police, but their powers were still restri