General News
4 February, 2026
Men on kidnapping, extortion charges
TWO men from Mareeba and Mt Molloy allegedly on the hook for kidnapping and extorting a Cairns woman, as well as trafficking drugs, were taken down by authorities as part of Operation Yankee Novi last week.
Police officers from the Major and Organised Crime Squad Far Northern, as well as the Cairns, Tablelands, and Smithfield Criminal Investigation Branches, launched the operation on 22 January following reports that a woman was kidnapped and extorted by a man known to her at a Machans Beach property.
It will be alleged one of the men is an associate of the Lone Wolf outlaw motorcycle gang and was involved with trafficking methylamphetamine.
Police executed five search warrants at addresses in Mareeba, Mt Molloy, Trinity Beach, and Machans Beach last Wednesday, where a “significant” amount of meth, cocaine, cannabis, drug utensils, and electronic devices were allegedly found.
A 31-year-old Mareeba man and a 36-year-old Mt Molloy man were arrested on a slew of charges and appeared in the Mareeba Magistrate’s Court last Thursday, where they were both denied bail.
The Mareeba man, Yohans Frances Shol, was arrested and charged with two counts each of drug trafficking, extortion, and aggravated possession of meth and cocaine, and one count of kidnapping. He was remanded in custody to reappear on 7 April.
The Mount Molloy man, Beau Erlandsson, was arrested and charged with two counts of extortion and possession, and one count each of kidnapping, drug trafficking, possessing utensils, and contravening order about information necessary to access information stored electronically. He was remanded in custody and was due to reappear on Monday.
This operation follows Operation Xray Rile, which resulted in the arrest of a 32-year-old man and alleged Lone Wolf member, who was charged with trafficking dangerous drugs and money laundering in Cairns in December last year.
Officer in charge of the Major and Organised Crime Squad, Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Trent Odmark, said police would continue targeting outlaw motorcycle gang members and drug trafficking in the region.
“We are committed to reducing the movement of dangerous drugs in our community and the violence associated with it,” Sergeant Odmark said.
“Our officers are constantly working to disrupt this activity and bring offenders before the court, and we ask anyone in the community with information about this kind of offending to please come forward.”
