Acting Commissioner Bob Hill (centre) and Detective Inspector Michael Daly and Viper officers.Credit:Jason South
Since then,the 80-strong elite unit has uncovered almost 120 prohibited weapons,seized 81 guns and imitation firearms and charged 342 people with drugs,firearms,weapons,and proceeds of crime offences.
Among Viper’s recent successes was an operation to dismantle a syndicate suspected of trafficking steroids through the mail that led to the discovery in May of a sophisticated clandestine laboratory and more than 80 kilograms of chemicals used to manufacture drugs.
The seizure came a month after officers arrested eight people and uncovered large amounts of cash and $700,000 worth of cannabis as part of an investigation into Albanian organised crime networks in Melbourne.
Viper officers have also been involved in the arrest of suspected street gangsters,operations targeting organised motorbike gang members and an investigation into Asian crime groups trafficking cannabis,methamphetamine,and MDMA.
Officers have also been deployed to regional areas across the state more than 80 times to enforce firearm prohibition orders and execute search warrants.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said the creation of the unit was one of the most significant moves against organised crime syndicates in the history of the force.