Over the past week – 29 April to 5 May – Police from the Tweed-Byron District say 40 people were charged with a total of 64 criminal offences as follows:
• Domestic Violence: 15 people (13 males, two females) charged with 21 domestic violence-related offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, hinder or resist police, assault police, stalking/intimidation, damage and destroy property, use carriage service to menace, possession of an unauthorised firearm, and contravene apprehended violence orders.
• Traffic: Five charges for traffic-related offences, including police pursuits, mid to high range PCA offences, learner driver not accompanied by a licensed driver or tester, drive while disqualified, and use of a motor vehicle with an obscured or defaced number plate.
• Property: five people charged with property offences, including shoplifting (three), trespass (1), and possessing goods suspected of being stolen (three).
• Drugs: nine people charged with drug possession offences.
• Weapons: 1 person charged with firearms offences after police allegedly seized a gel blaster assault rifle, a Remington model shotgun, and two Colt style pistols. All weapons were life sized and appeared to be legitimate firearms. A separate individual was charged after allegedly holding a large metal pole and behaving aggressively, causing damage to property.
Significant Arrests:
• Learner Driver Police Pursuit – Murwillumbah
A 22-year-old woman from Kingscliff has been charged following an alleged police pursuit in Murwillumbah on Sunday, 3 May 2026. About 2:18am, police observed a vehicle allegedly travelling at excessive speed on Tweed Valley Way, South Murwillumbah. When the vehicle allegedly failed to stop, a pursuit ensued through several locations before the vehicle crossed into Queensland. The vehicle was later located abandoned in Coolangatta. The driver was identified and issued with a Field Court Attendance Notice for police pursuit, fail to stop – drive at speed, learner not displaying ‘L’ plates, and learner not accompanied by a licensed driver. The matter is before the court.
• Prohibited Weapons – Tweed Heads
A 50-year-old man from Melton South, Victoria, has been charged following a vehicle stop in Tweed Heads around midday on Wednesday, 30 April 2026. Police stopped a white Mitsubishi van after detecting suspicious registration plates and allegedly located multiple gel blasters and a prohibited weapon inside the vehicle. Gel blasters are classified as prohibited weapons in NSW. Further inquiries revealed the man was allegedly subject to a current interstate domestic violence intervention order and in the company of two protected persons, including a child. He was charged with six offences, including four counts of possessing an unauthorised firearm, possessing, or using a prohibited weapon without a permit, and contravening an AVO. The man was refused bail and is due to reappear before court on 11 May 2026.
• Domestic Violence Offences – Tweed Heads
A 41-year-old man from Tweed Heads has been charged following multiple alleged domestic violence incidents that occurred in Tweed Heads and Tweed Heads South during April 2026. Police will allege the man assaulted and intimidated a woman during several incidents, causing facial and knee injuries requiring hospital treatment. Police further allege he breached a current Personal Violence Order and strict bail conditions. The man was arrested in Tweed Heads South on Monday, 4 May 2026, and charged with multiple offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intimidation, and breach of a Personal Violence Order. He was refused bail and remains before the courts until September 2026.
• Threatening Behaviour – Byron Bay Hospital
A 57-year-old man has been charged following an incident at Byron Bay Hospital on Sunday, 3 May 2026. Police allege the man made threatening and intimidating comments toward hospital staff and refused repeated directions to leave after receiving medical treatment. Police attended shortly before 8:00pm and arrested the man at the hospital entrance. He was charged with intimidation and offensive behaviour and has been issued strict bail conditions to appear at Byron Bay Local Court on 11 May 2026.
Court Outcomes:
• A 28-year-old male was convicted at Tweed Heads Local Court for recklessly damaging his partner’s car at Kingscliff in January 2026. The male had used a baseball bat to smash the car’s windows. He was sentenced to a fixed term of imprisonment for 6 months. A final apprehended violence order was made for the protection of the victim.
• A 45-year-old male from Banora Point appeared before Tweed Heads Local Court on 4 May 2026 for domestic related assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The male had assaulted his wife in January 2026 by taking hold of her neck and biting her on the face following an argument over a mobile phone. He was convicted and was ordered to enter into a two-year supervised community corrections order which included a 150-hour community service work condition. He was also ordered to undertake program/s in relation to addressing the issue and perception of gender subservience. A final apprehended violence order was made for the protection of the victim.
‘Police continue to work closely with partners and the community to address domestic violence, serious offending, and road safety across the Tweed/Byron Police District. Anyone with information about crime is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000’.
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