A LOADED gun, a $200,000 cash stash and nine kilograms of cannabis were allegedly seized when strike force police raided multiple locations across the Hunter on Thursday.
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Three people were arrested when a Raptor Squad team - codenamed Strike Force Stranraer - moved on a business inside the Stocklands Green Hills shopping centre at East Maitland about 11.45am.
A 42-year-old woman and two men, aged 31 and 20, were arrested and taken to Maitland Police Station.
The trio was being questioned on Thursday afternoon but a NSW Police spokesperson confirmed charges were expected to be laid.
The woman and two men were expected to spend the night behind bars before fronting court on Friday, police said.
The police case will be that the three people were involved in supplying illicit drugs and firearms to organised crime networks.
Strike Force Straener - an operation launched in May 2023 to investigate a suspected organised crime syndicate in the Hunter - simultaneously raided locations at East Maitland, Maitland, Rutherford and Metford on October 26.
The squad also carried out searches at West Ryde, Merrylands and Warwick Farm.
Police allege that during the raids on Thursday, officers uncovered $200,000 in cash, a loaded firearm, a Porsche, a Toyota Hilux, a BMW and nine kilograms of cannabis with a street value of $272,000.
They were all seized and will undergo forensic examination.
In the months since its launch, Strike Force Stranraer police have seized four firearms, 1.2 kilograms of methylamphetamine, also known as ice, 113 grams of MDMA and 28 grams of cocaine.
The drug stashes have a combined street value of about $640,000, according to police.
Investigations under Strike Force Stranraer continue.
Witnesses told the Newcastle Herald they had seen plain-clothed police and uniformed officers swarm a business in the busy Green Hills Stockland shopping centre in East Maitland on Thursday.
Police said at the time there had been no "immediate threat" to the public.
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Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
