Pubdate: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Copyright: 2000 The Sydney Morning Herald Contact: GPO Box 3771, Sydney NSW 2001 Fax: +61-(0)2-9282 3492 Website: http://www.smh.com.au/ Forum: http://forums.fairfax.com.au/ Author: Neil Mercer, Ellen Connolly POLICE RAID TRUCKIES' HIGHWAY 'DRUG STOP' For interstate truck drivers dependent on amphetamines to help them make it through the night the location could not have been more convenient. There, right on the Newell Highway - part of the main trucking route on the east coast - was, police say, a drug laboratory churning out methyl-amphetamine, better known as speed. The cover appeared to be perfect. It was right next to a service station. At 12.30am yesterday, in pouring rain, detectives led by officers from the chemical operations unit of Crime Agencies raided the alleged lab in Peak Hill, near Parkes, in western NSW. Other raids were carried out in Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, and a total of eight people, including three truck drivers, were arrested. In addition, half a kilogram of speed allegedly made in Peak Hill was seized in Queanbeyan, and a second alleged drug laboratory was uncovered in Eumundi, in Queensland. The acting commander of Crime Agencies, Chief Superintendent Rod Harvey, said: "Our inquiries indicate this syndicate has produced and supplied large quantities of methylamphetamine to interstate truck drivers operating through NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Canberra." Parkes court heard yesterday that during the three-month investigation detectives had intercepted 2,500 telephone conversations and conducted "undercover operatives affecting the distribution network of interstate truck drivers". Police were last night still searching the house at Peak Hill. It is believed the search may last another two days because of the large quantities of speed being uncovered in various hiding places. The discovery of the alleged amphetamine lab has brought into stark relief the drug abuse among a large number of interstate truckies. Last month the NSW Motor Accidents Authority launched a safety inquiry into the industry. The Transport Workers Union told the inquiry it was not uncommon for drivers to spend 100 hours a week at the wheel. One survey of almost 700 drivers had found that 30 per cent had used drugs. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Willingham, of the chemical operations unit, said last night that more arrests were expected. In Parkes local court yesterday, a 50-year-old man was charged with five offences, including the manufacture ofa commercial quantity ofmethylamphetamines, and an 18-year-old woman was charged with two counts of manufacturing a prohibited drug. - --- MAP posted-by: John Chase