Pair accused of GBL supply after police raid Illawarra homes, hotel room

The woman, aged 39, was arrested following a vehicle stop last month, while the man, aged 35, was apprehended on Thursday morning after police raided a hotel room inside the Wollongong Novotel.

A police statement issued on Thursday afternoon said detectives attached to the South East Region Enforcement Squad set Strike Force Ables in January to investigate the supply of ice and GBL, commonly known as liquid ecstasy, in the region.

Officers stopped the woman on the Princes Highway at Maddens Plains on the afternoon of July 16, allegedly locating and seizing two litres of a substance contained within a soft drink bottle, later confirmed to be GBL.

The woman was arrested but later released without charge, pending further inquiries.

Police raided a home on Darley Street in Shellharbour a week later.

The woman was re-arrested and taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station, where she was charged with commercial drug supply and two counts of possessing a prohibited drug.

She was refused bail and appeared briefly in Wollongong Local Court on July 23. She was formally refused bail to reappear in court on September 16.

Meanwhile, officers raided two homes in Wollongong and a room at the Wollongong Novotel on Thursday morning in connection with their investigation.

They allegedly seized drugs, suspected stolen property, electronic devices and drug paraphernalia from inside the room.

A 35-year-old man was arrested and taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station where he was charged with commercial drug supply, three counts of ongoing drug supply and conducting a drug premises.

He was refused bail and will face Wollongong Local Court on Friday.

Investigations are continuing.

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