Queensland Police charge 41 motorists in Operation Auster

Forty-one motorists have been charged with drink and drug driving offences following a six-day traffic enforcement operation in Queensland’s Southern Region. Known as Operation Auster, the initiative ran from 19 to 24 October and involved highway patrols from Ipswich, Toowoomba, and Dalby.

During the operation, officers conducted 3,800 random breath tests, leading to 13 drink-driving charges, and 138 random drug tests, resulting in 28 drug-driving charges. Police also issued 470 traffic infringement notices, covering speeding, disqualified driving, and unregistered vehicles.

Specific incidents included a 75-year-old man being fined for speeding in a Porsche Cayenne on the D’Aguilar Highway, and a 31-year-old woman from Dalby being charged with multiple offences, including possessing tainted property and using false number plates, after police intercepted a Subaru Impreza in Miles.