FIVE people have been arrested and charged with a total of 30 offences at Boggabilla in the first Operation Soteria surge in the western region of New South Wales.

Charges include common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily, aggravated enter dwelling with intent to deprive liberty, armed with intent to commit indictable offence, and stalk-intimidate.

The three-day Operation Soteria campaign ran from Thursday, January 8 to Saturday, January 10  by general duties police as well as specially-trained officers from the Operations Support Group and the Dog Unit.

During the operation police conducted 31 bail compliance and ADVO checks, 15 person searches, two firearm prohibition order searches and two drug detections.

They also executed five arrest warrants, significant arrests.

A 24-year-old man was arrested on Saturday in Boggabilla and was taken to Boggabilla Police Station where he was charged with 15 offences, including four counts of contravening restriction of ADVO, five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault, aggravated enter dwelling with intent to deprive liberty, armed with intent to commit indictable offence, two counts of stalk intimidate and knowingly contravene ADVO.

Police will allege the latest ADVO breach was the third within 28 days.

The man, from Boggabilla, was also charged with a further three outstanding warrants for alleged aggravated break-and-enters, as well as domestic violence and traffic offences.

He has been refused bail to appear before Bail Division Court today, Sunday, January 11.

A second 24-year-old man was also arrested yesterday and was taken to Moree Police Station where he was charged with five offences, including use carriage service to menace harass offend, intentionally choke person without consent, common assault, destroy or damage property and

Stalk-intimidate.

The man, from Moree, was granted strict conditional bail to appear before Moree Local Court on Monday, February 2.

A 43-year-old man was arrested on two outstanding warrants last Thursday, January 8.

He was taken to Moree Police Station where he’s been charged by warrant for the alleged offences of attempt stalk, intimidate intend fear or harm, common assault and intentionally choke person without consent.

The man, from Moree, was refused bail to appear before the Moree Local Court next Tuesday, January 13.

This was the first surge deployment for 2026 where an influx of police were strategically deployed to prevent and disrupt crime in regional NSW, these deployments follow on from the successful 2025 deployments that were held in both the western and northern regions.

Operation Soteria was launched in March, 2025 to address an escalation of violence in offenders across Western and Northern parts of the State.

It’s core strategies focus on targeting high-risk offenders and conducting regular high-visibility proactive policing campaigns.

Further similar operations are already being organised for 2026.

Police Media