Police have charged a man with 11 offences after a road safety blitz on Sunday, 18 August. Photo: SCM Jeans.
A police blitz on modified vehicles in the Illawarra led to 11 criminal charges for one man on Sunday (18 August).
Police also issued 24 vehicle defect notices as part of the road safety campaign Operation Dissent.
The operation is conducted throughout the year in Wollongong and Lake Illawarra areas and targets illegally modified vehicles involved in street racing, burnouts and other traffic offences.
On Sunday, officers from Illawarra Traffic and Highway Patrol, with help from Transport for NSW compliance inspectors, issued several owners with directions to attend an inspection site established in Bulli.
As a result, 26 vehicles were inspected.
Of those, 12 were given major grounding defect notices and another 12 drivers were issued with notices only allowing them to drive their vehicles home.
Police also issued 69 traffic infringement notices and conducted 26 breath tests and 26 drug tests.
Two drivers were charged with drink-driving offences and four drivers were charged with drug-driving.
Thirteen vehicles failed to attend the inspection site and were referred to Transport for NSW inspectors for further action.
A NSW Police spokesperson said a 20-year-old man faced a significant number of charges as a result of the blitz.
“About 8:50 am on Sunday, 18 August, 2024, a 20-year-old man was seen driving a Golf GTD hatchback along Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Austinmer,” the police spokesperson said.
“A short time later, police located the man inside the car at a car park on King Street, Thirroul, before he was arrested and taken to Wollongong police station where he was charged with 11 offences.”
Those offences included: hindering a police officer in the execution of duty, carrying a cutting weapon upon apprehension, having custody of a knife in a public place, two counts of possessing a prohibited drug, licence expired more than two years ago, use an unregistered registrable Class A motor vehicle on road, use an uninsured motor vehicle, use a vehicle in contravention of minor defect notice and two counts of use a Class A vehicle with an unauthorised number plate affixed.
The man was refused bail to appear at Wollongong Local Court on Monday, 19 August.
Investigations as part of Operation Dissent continue.
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