Arabic version: الشرطة تستهدف الميسّرين المزعومين لعصابة منازل زراعة القنب

According to ABC News, Victoria Police have arrested a 40-year-old Keysborough man while investigating an alleged organised crime syndicate linked to cannabis crop houses and money laundering. Police said electricians, real estate agents, cleaners, accountants and landlords who assisted the operation could also be targeted.

The man was arrested early on Tuesday and charged with two counts of cultivating commercial quantities of cannabis and committing an indictable offence while on bail. He appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, did not apply for bail and was remanded to appear again in October.

Detectives from the Criminal Proceeds Squad began examining the alleged syndicate in 2023 after identifying an increase in cannabis crop houses in the Latrobe Valley. Police said they had linked the group to at least 41 crop houses dating back to 2019.

In August 2025, police restrained 14 properties allegedly connected to the syndicate, with a combined value of $17.5 million. The properties included five in Morwell, two in Moe and two in Keysborough, as well as sites in Bendigo, Rosebud, McKinnon, Hallam and Newborough.

Detective Superintendent Geri Porter said people who allowed properties to be used for cannabis cultivation, provided trade work, moved money or produced false paperwork would be targeted. Mornington Divisional Response Unit Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pola urged people to report suspicious activity, saying drug trafficking and money laundering were not victimless crimes and could be linked to firearms offences, assaults, extortions, burglaries and vehicle theft.