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Rachael Ward

Immigration detainee charged over alleged drug ring

Two men are accused of involvement in a drug supply racket run from Villawood Detention Centre. (HANDOUT/NSW POLICE)

An immigration detainee and another man have been charged over an alleged drug ring operating from inside a detention facility.

Police say the 49-year-old dealt large amounts of methylamphetamine using an encrypted messaging service from Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney's west 

Organised crime investigators claim he established and co-ordinated a network of runners who carried out transactions on his behalf.

They say they found three mobile phones during a search of a unit at the centre on July 11.

A man in the being taken into custody
Police raided a detention centre unit on July 11. (HANDOUT/NSW POLICE)

The man has been charged with multiple offences including directing a criminal group and supplying a large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs.

Two kilograms of methylamphetamine and $169,000 in cash linked to the syndicate were previously seized by officers, police said on Saturday.

On Wednesday, detectives uncovered 750 grams of methylamphetamine and 90 grams of heroin in a toilet bowl during a search of a home in Liverpool.

It's alleged the find was evidence of "an attempt to dispose of the drugs", while heroin was also found on the bathroom floor and $325,000 cash and an encrypted electronic device were also recovered.

Packages allegedly containing methylamphetamine and heroin in a toilet
Police allege drugs discovered in a toilet bowl were ready to be flushed away. (HANDOUT/NSW POLICE)

Vision supplied by police shows riot squad officers breaking down the door as they started the search. They also released an image of $50 notes stacked inside a cardboard box.

Police also arrested a 24-year-old man they allege was a runner for the man in detention.

He's been charged with two counts of supplying a prohibited drug, participating in a criminal group and other offences.

Both men were refused bail following brief appearances in court.

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