THOUSANDS of commemorative coins, suspected to be stolen from the Royal Australian Mint, was found when police cracked a serious drug trafficking ring following raids on five properties in four Canberra suburbs yesterday (December 8).

A 37-year-old drug dealer was arrested when police searched premises in Gordon, Hume, Chisholm and two in Calwell, seizing about 800 grams of a substance police believe to be methamphetamine, which has an estimated street value of $1.1 million.

Police also seized more than $130,000 in cash and about $500,000 worth of goods, which police allege to be proceeds of crime, including three motorcycles – Suzuki, Harley-Davidson, and KTM models – a racing go-kart, a Seadoo JetSki, a Holden GTS Commodore, a Ford Raptor, a semi-automatic firearm, and 12 other prohibited weapons.

“What we saw yesterday was a drug dealer with houses full of luxury items, bought with money they’ve made off other people’s drug use,” Sergeant Giles said.

“The investigation in this case was comprehensive. The more we looked, the more we discovered and yesterday it was time to take the next step in our investigation.

“To remove hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of drugs from Canberra and confiscate hundreds of thousands of dollars’ of the proceeds of crime takes this result to another level.

“If you’re dealing drugs in Canberra, we’ll arrest you and seize your drugs. We’ll confiscate anything you’ve bought with drug money, and we’ll put you before the courts.”

A man will face the ACT Magistrates Court on charges including trafficking in a prescribed drug other than cannabis and possession of property suspected of being the proceeds of crime.

Police expect to lay further charges against the man.

Police urge anyone who may have any information regarding the manufacture, sale or distribution of illicit drugs to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.