Drug drivers caught in Ipswich

Nundah Police performing RBTs on Brisbane Road outside Home HQ early yesterday morning. One member of the community failed a drug test.

Melanie Maeseele

DRUG testing police officers snared two drug drivers in a roadside operation in Ipswich on Tuesday and warned they would continue to blitz the region.

One male driver was caught driving with cannabis in his system while another man tested positive to methylamphetamine at 8.20am yesterday.

The roadside operation on Brisbane Street, Ipswich West, lasted for about two hours.

Senior Constable Scott Adams said methylamphetamine – an ingredient in speed and ice – could be tested in users up to 48 hours after the drug is taken.

The State Traffic Support Branch officer said his team would continue to hit Ipswich streets at all hours of the day to catch drink and drug drivers.

Snr Cnst Adams said on average they nab one drug driver for every 50 tests they do.

“Because drugs can last in your system for 48 hours we will test morning and night to catch these drivers,” Snr Cnst Adams said.

“Along with the cars we do test, having such a visible presence on a busy road gets the message out to drug users that we are about and are serious about catching drug drivers.

“We’ll come out from our base in Brisbane when requested by Ipswich, but otherwise on operations like today we will head out and test where we choose.”

The drug tests, which are done in conjunction with a random breath test, use a saliva swab which takes five minutes to return a result.

If the initial test is positive, a second saliva specimen is taken from the driver and the sample sent away to police laboratories for further testing.

Last week a similar operation on Salisbury Street, Eastern Heights, netted police another driver who tested positive to cannabis.

In December last year 50 police took part in a massive drug-and-alcohol-testing operation on the Warrego Highway at College View.

No-one was caught drink driving from 1399 tested, however of the 51 random drug tests, one woman was charged with driving while under the influence of drugs.