Canberra's police seized more than 28 kilograms of drugs and nearly $40,000 in criminal assets through a series of undercover operations that involved officers buying drugs.
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Senior members of ACT Policing authorised nine controlled operations to covertly gather evidence for offences that ranged from arson to drug trafficking in 2014-15, an Australian Federal Police report showed.
Under ACT law, police have immunity to take part in some illegal activities, such as buying drugs, to gather evidence that could lead to the prosecution of a criminal.
The majority of the orders gave permission for undercover police to buy illicit substances from dealers as part of investigations into suspected drug trafficking.
Police bought 12.9 grams of heroin during one operation, and 42 grams of heroin as part of another investigation.
One fake drug purchase led to one person being arrested and charged, with police seizing 28 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Police arrested one person and seized 126 grams of heroin and $39,750 in criminal assets due to another operation at the end of last year.
In three instances permission for a special operation was granted but police never used it.
Another investigation was ongoing at the time the report was written and in another probe the direction of the investigation changed and the application was no longer needed.
ACT Policing gave permission for eight controlled operations, most linked to drug trafficking, to be carried out in 2013-14.
Police arrested three people and seized 81 cannabis plants, $246,000 cash, two vehicles and amounts of cocaine, heroin and methylamphetamine as part of those operations.
