A search warrant under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) that describes the offence only by its name and Criminal Code section number, without further particulars, does not satisfy the mandatory requirement for 'brief particulars of the offence' in s 73(1)(b)(i) and is invalid. A police officer applying for a warrant by telephone under s 451 must actually form the view that urgent or special circumstances exist; the magistrate's preference for dealing with the matter by telephone does not itself constitute a special circumstance. However, even where a warrant is declared invalid and the seizure unlawful, the court retains a discretion to refuse to order the return of seized items where criminal proceedings are pending, leaving admissibility to the trial judge.
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