Four men and a woman were arrested by heavily armed officers from the tactical operations unit at the Bomaderry railway station on Tuesday evening.

Five men and one woman were arrested as part of a police investigation into a series of break, enter and steal offences in the Shoalhaven.

John Oates, 48, of Eastfield Circuit, Ferndale, Western Australia was charged with robbery armed with an offensive weapon conspiracy to commit offence and conspiring to take an illicit drug, methamphetamine, from an unknown person while armed with an offensive weapon, a shotgun.

Police allege Oates conspired with a co-accused Anthony Levi Jones to commit the offence.

Jones, 35, of Attunga Avenue Sanctuary Point, also known as Adam Kobald, was charged with aggravated break and enter and commit an indictable offence, knowingly deal with the proceeds of crime, disposing of property, in company rob while armed with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Police allege Jones broke into the Cignal Tobacconist at Vincentia between June 6 and 7 this year with two co-accused, stealing $15,459 worth of cigarettes and $7200 in cash.

Police allege he disposed of the cigarettes from the robbery and $2500 in cash at Cringilla on June 6 and 10 and between 5.30pm on June 23 and 6.30pm on June 24 at Sanctuary Point robbed an unknown person of a quantity of methamphetamine, while armed with a dangerous weapon, a shortened shotgun.

He also allegedly conspired with Oates, who travelled to Nowra from Western Australia, to commit the offence.

Jones was also charged over failing to appear in Sutherland court over a break an enter charge at a bottle shop in Woronora (Sutherland Shire) in December 2002.

Ryan Mathew Ford, 21, of Roulstone Crescent, Sanctuary Point was charged with aggravated break and enter committing a serious indictable offence and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Police allege Ford took part in the robbery at the Cignal Tobacconist at Vincentia between June 6 and 7 this year, stealing $15,459 worth of cigarettes and $7200 in cash.

He was also charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime, $625 cash.

All three men appeared before Judge Rob Rabbidge, bail was not applied for and was formally refused and they will reappear in Nowra Local Court on August 5.

Two other men were arrested as part of the operation.

A 25-year-old man, arrested at the railway station, was taken to hospital after complaining of chest pains. He will be spoken to by police at a future date.

A fifth man, aged 19, was arrested shortly before 7.30pm Tuesday at a property on Christiansen Avenue, Old Erowal Bay.

He was charged with aggravated break, enter and steal and dealing in the proceeds of crime and was bailed to appear in Nowra Local Court on July 14.

The 20-year-old woman who was also arrested at Bomaderry railway station, was released pending further inquiries.

In April, detectives from the State Crime Command’s Property Crime Squad and officers from the Shoalhaven Local Area Command formed Strike Force Lagul to investigate a number of aggravated break, enter and steal offences in the area, including two ram raids on service stations at Falls Creek and Wandandian and the aggravated break, enter and steal at a tobacconist in Vincentia.

The arrest came after a joint operation with State Crime Command, the Property Crime Squad Breaking Unit, Shoalhaven Local Area Command.

Six officers worked on the case fulltime and at the arrest stage a substantial number of officers from the Property Crime Squad, Shoalhaven LAC, tactical operations unit and others specialist officers including public order and riot squad took part.