Repeat Offender Caught in Early Morning Police Blitz
A 28-year-old man has found himself on the wrong side of the law not once, but twice within a single morning, after police allege he was driving while under the influence of illicit drugs in the Illawarra region.
First Arrest on Memorial Drive
The incident began around 12:30am on Sunday, November 9, 2025, when officers noticed a vehicle being driven suspiciously on Memorial Drive in Towradgi. Upon pulling over the driver, police conducted a search and allegedly discovered 22 grams of cannabis inside the car.
The man subsequently underwent an oral fluid test, which returned a positive detection for cannabis. Further checks revealed his licence had been cancelled and his vehicle registration had expired.
He was issued with a field court attendance notice for driving with a cancelled licence, fined for operating an uninsured and unregistered vehicle, and received a cannabis caution.
Second Arrest Just Hours Later
In a surprising turn of events, the same driver was allegedly stopped again by police just three hours later at 3:30am, this time on Towradgi Road in Corrimal.
During this second encounter, the man returned positive oral fluid tests for both methamphetamine and cannabis. He was arrested and taken to Wollongong Police Station for secondary testing, which confirmed the presence of cannabis.
This time, he was formally charged with driving while his licence was cancelled, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, and failing to comply with a driver prohibition.
Statewide Operation Targets Impaired Drivers
These arrests occurred during Operation Raid, a statewide police blitz targeting impaired drivers that ran from 12:01am on Thursday, November 6 to 4am on Sunday, November 9.
During this intensive operation, NSW Police conducted:
- 145,800 breath tests, detecting 241 drink driving offences
- 10,270 drug tests, with 663 people returning positive samples
- Issued more than 7,000 fines for various traffic offences
The 28-year-old man has been granted bail and is scheduled to appear before Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, December 2. Police are awaiting the results of the oral fluid sample analysis for both incidents.
