Kidnapping, Extortion and Drug Trafficking Charges Laid Under Operation Yankee Novi

Two men have been charged with serious kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking offences following a major police operation in Far North Queensland.

Officers from the Queensland Police Service Major and Organised Crime Squad Far Northern, alongside detectives from Cairns, Tablelands and Smithfield Criminal Investigation Branches, arrested the men on 28 January as part of Operation Yankee Novi.

The investigation was launched on 22 January after police received reports that a woman had been kidnapped and extorted at a property in Machans Beach by a man known to her.

Police allege one of the accused is an associate of the Lone Wolf outlaw motorcycle gang and was involved in the trafficking of methylamphetamine across the Far Northern region.

On 28 January, officers executed five search warrants at properties in Mareeba, Mount Molloy, Trinity Beach and Machans Beach. During the searches, police allegedly seized significant quantities of methylamphetamine, cocaine and cannabis, along with drug utensils and electronic devices.

A 31-year-old man from Mareeba was charged with multiple offences including two counts each of trafficking in dangerous drugs and extortion with intent to gain benefit with threat of detriment, as well as possessing dangerous drugs in a Schedule 1 quantity or exceeding Schedule 4, and one count of kidnapping.

A 36-year-old Mount Molloy man was charged with two counts of extortion with intent to gain benefit with threat of detriment, along with single counts of kidnapping, trafficking in dangerous drugs, possessing drug utensils, possessing dangerous drugs, and contravening an order relating to access information stored electronically.

Both men were refused bail and appeared in Mareeba Magistrates Court on 29 January.
The Mareeba man was remanded in custody to reappear on 7 April, while the Mount Molloy man is due to reappear on 2 February.

Operation Yankee Novi follows Operation Xray Rile, which resulted in the arrest of a 32-year-old man and alleged Lone Wolf member charged with drug trafficking and money laundering offences in Cairns in December 2025.

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Trent Odmark, officer in charge of the Major and Organised Crime Squad, said police would continue targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs and drug trafficking networks in the Far North.

"We are committed to reducing the movement of dangerous drugs in our community and the violence associated with them," he said.
"Our officers are continually working to disrupt this activity and bring offenders before the court, and we urge anyone with information about this type of offending to come forward."