Ice Found During Routine Traffic Stop

Three people were arrested when police pulled over a car in Flora Hill early Tuesday morning.

Twenty-five grams of the drug ‘Ice’ was found, along with a machete and a baseball bat, when the car was searched.

Sergeant Mick McCrann of Bendigo Police said officers were alerted by the strange behaviour of the two men and one woman during a random traffic stop.

A quantity of Ice, a machete and a baseball bat  were found in a car search.
A quantity of Ice, a machete and a baseball bat were found in a car search.

George Fundell, 25, of Wantirna was charged with possession of trafficable amounts of a controlled substance, and two other people are helping police with their enquiries.

Fundell failed a bid for bail and was remanded in police custody to face the Magistrates Court this Friday.

Sergeant McCrann said the seizure was “a significant win for the community.”

“This is over two thousand ‘hits’ that won’t make it onto the streets. Ice has a significant effect on families, the community, and our society,” Sergeant McCrann said.

Recently a man addicted to Ice was sentenced to more than eight years jail for a string of armed robberies in Bendigo, crimes committed to fund his own habit. Walter Weber, 34, who pled guilty to the charges, told the court his dealer would pick him up after the robberies, and the funds were used to pay what the man owed so he could gain more of the dangerous drug.

In April, Prime Minster Tony Abbott announced a new national task force to tackle the growth of the dangerous drug. He labelled it “the worst … scourge Australia has faced.”

The federal government has initiated plans for a ‘Dob in a Drug Dealer’ campaign fund, using money confiscated through the War on Drugs.

Ice has been blamed for a rise in violence and robberies over the last three years, and deaths attributed to Ice have grown by over 500% in the same time.