4 Arrested in police operation targeting organized crime in Australia

Four people have been arrested after police seized firearms and dismantled a large clandestine drug laboratory in southwest Sydney, Australia during an operation targeting "mafia-style" organized-crime groups, the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force said on Thursday. Detectives attached to Strike Force Wonoona located the drugs factory and drums of chemicals believed to be used in the manufacture of methyl amphetamine after raiding a property in Cobbity in southwest Sydney on Wednesday morning, police said. Police also seized quantities of methyl amphetamine and cannabis, as well as more than 20,000 AU dollars (20,100 U.S. dollars) in cash and a replica firearm. Two men, aged 41 and 51, and a 42-year-old woman were arrested at home in Cobbity on Wednesday, and a 62-year-old man was arrested in the Sydney suburb of Cecil Hills on the same day. They have been charged with participating in a criminal group and firearms offenses. Police also raided properties in the Sydney suburbs of Cecil Hills and Leichhardt and in the Southern Tablelands town of Parkesbourne. Police alleged all four of those arrested are part of a Mafia- style crime group. They are due to appear in court on Thursday.