Charges building as task force arrests exceed 100

MORE than 100 offenders have been nabbed for a string of offences across Cairns in the first week of a new operation aimed at tackling crime.

Since launching on January 5, officers from the Greater Cairns Taskforce have arrested 111 offenders on 161 charges.

Police have preferred charges for 40 property related offences, 22 drug offences, 18 public order offences and 10 traffic related offences.

Greater Cairns Taskforce is made up of 35 officers selected from the Cairns metropolitan area, Smithfield and Edmonton police stations along with members from specialist policing sections.

The team’s most recent arrests were an 18-year-old Mooroobool man and a 20year-old White Rock man charged over the alleged theft of a station wagon from a Conlan St home on January 11.

Both men were charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle and unlicensed driving. They were scheduled to appear in court later this month.

In a separate incident, a 29year-old Manunda woman was charged with one count of burglary and six counts of fraud after a wallet was allegedly stolen from a holiday unit on December 30.

The woman was due in court later this month. Officers from the Property Crime Squad also charged a 27-yearold Cairns North woman over the alleged burglary.