Booze bus cops seize gun, drugs
Traffic officers at an Osborne Park booze and drug bus operation on Thursday night got more than they expected when the driver of a green Ford Falcon was stopped for a random drug test.
Alarm bells rang when the 24-year-old driver tested positive to an illicit substance during the preliminary mouth swab test.
The Oldbury man and his passengers were searched by police. They were then made to sit out in the cold on the side of the road.
The late-model Falcon was searched and officers allegedly found a 0.22 bolt-action rifle, ammunition, a small amount of a crystal substance believed to be amphetamine and various other items.
The unlicensed firearm was allegedly found underneath the front passenger seat in easy reach of all occupants of the car.
A more advanced evidentiary drug test on the booze bus confirmed a positive result for the driver.
Detectives from Perth city were called out and interviewed the driver and passengers.
The driver was charged with possessing an unlicensed firearm and other articles in a manner likely to cause fear.
He is due to appear in Perth Magistrate's Court on Friday.
He may face more charges pending the results of further analysis by the ChemCentre on his drug test.
A 31-year-old Gosnells man, who was a passenger in the car, will be summoned to appear in court at a later date for allegedly possessing a prohibited drug and possessing an article in a manner likely to cause fear.
