An alleged drug network wreaking havoc in northern WA has been dealt a major blow by Kimberley detectives after a series of busts uncovered more than $100,000 worth of methylamphetamine.
Three men have been charged following a police operation targeting the transportation of meth up the WA coast and the dealing of the drug in northern communities — which have been ravaged by crime in recent months.
Police say "information and anecdotes" from the northernmost West Kimberley town of Derby triggered Operation Beaufortia earlier this year.
Intelligence pointed to "planned purchases and meetings" playing out thousands of kilometres away in Perth that saw drugs being sneaked into the Kimberley undetected.
The information prompted police to put key people under surveillance, and with the help of detectives in Perth's southern suburb of Baldivis, home in on a meeting between two people at a grocery store earlier this year.
It was suspected the two people were involved with the alleged Derby drug ring.
CCTV caught them meeting and helped detectives identify a car they thought could be involved with transporting drugs to the state's north.
The car allowed Kimberley detectives to spring into action, with officers able to build a map of who was involved in the network and what their next move should be.
In July, police intercepted the car as it approached Broome and arrested one of its passengers, a Derby local.
Detectives allege they found about $140,000 worth of meth in the car, triggering further investigations into where the drugs were en route to.
Police said after further enquiries, they were led to another Kimberley man suspected of being connected to the network.
A search warrant of the man's property in Derby is alleged to have uncovered drug paraphernalia and about $10,000 in cash, and he was also hit with a meth trafficking charge.
Detectives then turned their gaze further south, towards the alleged Perth-based supplier, who they believed was integral to the network.
A second search warrant was executed by the Drugs and Firearms Squad at the home of a Rockingham man in Hillman, and he was subsequently charged with a string of offences including meth trafficking.
None of the men have entered pleas to the charges, and they are all due in court again later this year.
Police expect the investigation will make a serious dent in drug-fuelled crime plaguing the region, which has faced a resurgence since WA's state border was reopened.
It's the second major disruption to northern WA's drug network in just over a year, with Operations Roostley and Paravent uncovering 15 kilograms of methamphetamine, MDMA and cannabis before it could hit the street in 2021.
