Five people have been slapped with fines after "flagrantly disregarding" tough new social distancing rules in Wagga on Friday morning.
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Riverina police Superintendent Bob Noble said officers visited a Tolland home for an unrelated matter and found four men and one woman who had no reason to be there.
All five were issued $1000 on-the-spot fines for breaching the ministerial direction to stay at home and not congregate in groups.,
The incident was the second social distancing breach across the Riverina after a Gundagai man failed to self quarantine on Wednesday.
No one in the Tolland group, aged in their late 20s and early 30s, are believed to have been required to self-quarantine.
Superintendent Noble said police would continue to crack down on people breaching the ministerial directions.
"Lives are at risk here and if we don't abide by the directions and the advice we've been given more lives potentially will be lost," he said.
Superintendent Noble said police would be strictly enforcing the restrictions, but discretion may be used where there is a "mitigating circumstance".
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"If the person wasn't clear about the direction that's been given we'll try and explain that and if they're in a position to comply promptly and without further incident or cause any further harm, that might be an instance where we use discretion," he said.
"We will apply discretion when it's appropriate but in circumstances such as those encountered by police today [Friday], where people are flagrantly disregarding the ministerial direction and placing themselves and others at risk of harm, we will issue processes and we're very serious about it."
In a separate incident, a Tumbarumba man was fined and charged after he was found to be 150km away from his home.
About 7.40pm on Thursday, officers responded to reports of a man allegedly dealing drugs at a hotel on Hurley Street, Cootamundra.
According to police, a clear bag containing methamphetamine was found and seized.
Officers later stopped a Ford Falcon in the same street, arrested a 36-year-old man and seized cash alleged to be the proceeds of crime.
The man was charged with supplying a prohibited drug and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Police said the man was also issued a penalty infringement notice after he was unable to provide a reasonable excuse for being away from his registered Tumbarumba address.
He was given conditional bail to appear at Cootamundra Local Court on May 4.
Superintendent Noble reiterated that the maximum penalty for breaching the ministerial direction was a six month jail term.
"That's how serious the judicial system views this and if we need to use the full extend of the law, we'll use that," he said.
He also encouraged anyone considering a holiday in the near future to stay at home and only travel when absolutely necessary.