A police post showing off the bust of two 20-something taggers, one of whom was a small-time and clearly inexperienced weed grower, has gone viral on Facebook.
The message boasted about a successful two month operation to track down two young men in New South Wales who tagged trains at four Cityrail stations.
It showed photos of the taggers’ drawings, spray cans and some unimpressive drug operations, with dying plants and dodgy lamp wiring in a tent.
The post attracted more than 1,300 responses including hundreds of mocking comments about the five ‘sad’ looking plants seized, the men’s meagre collection of 15 seeds and their incriminating art pads – while others asked if the drugs were ‘still available’.
This police Facebook post attracted more than 1,300 responses on Thursday including hundreds of mocking comments about five unhealthy-looking plants seized (pictured above)
The photos posted by police included images of the West Ryde man’s modest looking marijuana growing set-up (pictured above)
Police’s Proactive Crime Team’s efforts resulted in raids of homes in Sydney and Newcastle, and the arrests of a 24-year-old West Ryde man and a 23-year-old Adamstown man.
Both were charged with damaging property and being on train tracks.
The West Ryde man was also charged with several drug offences.
One image posted by NSW Police showed five plastic baggies containing literally 15 seeds (pictured above), much to the amusement of Facebook commenters
The two men were arrested for property damage at five train stations and images of their tag sketches (pictured above) were posted on Facebook
Judging by the images posted by police, he was not a big shot in the cannabis underworld.
‘Someone needs horticultural lessons, they look so sad,’ one man said of a photo of his sick-looking cannabis plants.
‘Looks like a big haul, I’m sure it’s got a street value of about $6.50 and 2 paddle pops,’ another wrote.
‘Master engineer at work,’ said one man, while a woman wrote ‘I can’t stop laughing, how embarrassing.’
Several commenters enquired whether the items depicted ‘are still available’, especially one photo of a plastic tub containing what appeared to be hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The comments were even harsher on the photo of five plastic baggies containing 15 seeds.
‘I had more seeds in my last quarter. Lovely work officers!!’ one young Melbourne commenter wrote.
‘NSW probably spent hundred thousand on this operation and in ACT it’s basically legal,’ a tradie commented.
‘This is the funniest police post I’ve seen in ages. I’d love to see a photo of the mastermind behind this massive set up,’ another commenter said.
One the the arrested taggers’ art pad sketches is pictured above – clearly practicing his skills for the train lines
One image posted by police was of what appeared to be hallucinogenic mushrooms (pictured above). The photo drew joking enquiries about whether the item shown was still available
Both men are due to appear in court.
‘Safety is the number one priority for police and crime, property damage, anti-social behaviour or drug and alcohol use on our public transport networks will not be tolerated,’ a NSW Police statement read.
‘Police will continue to target commuter safety, crime and anti-social behaviour on public transport, not just in the metropolitan areas but also on rural networks.’
Police also posted images of spray cans apparently used by the taggers for their graffiti
Not everybody mocked the police for the meagre haul, several thanked officers for their work.
‘Good work,’ one man said. ‘These graffiti (so called artists) normally commit other crimes as well as they have no respect for anyone. Take them off the streets for a while!’
But one woman summed up many of the comments in saying, ‘I usually stand with law enforcement 100% but this is just ridiculous…. If it was a house or property full of plants and a shed full of spray paint I would be in agreeance… this is not even worth your time or effort.’