Australia seizes 2.7 metric tons of cocaine in record bust
Australian police have seized 2.7 metric tons of cocaine (about 6,000 pounds) hidden in underground bunkers near Sydney, the country’s largest-ever cocaine seizure, according to federal authorities.
The cocaine was found Friday when investigators searched a semi-rural property in Londonderry, on the western outskirts of Sydney, as part of an investigation into an organized crime plot to import and distribute drugs along Australia’s east coast.
Police said the drugs were hidden in plastic tubs buried in underground bunkers beneath three shipping containers at the rear of the property. The bunkers were concealed by false container floors.
The cocaine had an estimated street value of about A$816 million, or about $530 million, and was enough for about 3 million street-level deals, according to the Australian Federal Police.
The seizure is part of Operation Minjiang, a Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce investigation which has now seized more than 3 metric tons of drugs (about 6,600 pounds), including 178 kilograms of cocaine (about 392 pounds) and 142 kilograms of methamphetamine (about 313 pounds) found earlier.
Federal police said the cocaine found in Londonderry was imported into Australia near Midge Point, a coastal area in North Queensland, before being transported to Sydney on behalf of an organized crime group. The investigation into the group is ongoing.
Two men, a 21-year-old from Plumpton and a 25-year-old from Liverpool, were arrested at the property. Police allege both men tried to run from officers before they were taken into custody.
Both men were charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug, an offense which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. They appeared in court Saturday and were remanded in custody until their next appearance in August.
Operation Minjiang began in May after police found 40 kilograms of cocaine (about 88 pounds) in the water near a boat ramp at Midge Point while responding to reports of a burned-out flatbed truck.
Investigators later identified a 41-year-old Mackay man as the owner of the truck, leading to a series of searches across northern and southeastern Queensland, as well as one in Sydney. Six people were previously arrested and charged over their alleged roles in the failed importation plot.
Federal police said additional charges have since been filed against several people, including a 32-year-old Petrie man and a 32-year-old Petrie woman accused of trying to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. Police allege the woman lived at a suspected safehouse connected to the operation and was complicit in storing the drugs.
A 24-year-old man from Green Valley, New South Wales, was also charged and extradited to Queensland. Police allege he traveled to Midge Point in May and helped collect and transport the drugs.
Authorities said an alleged mother vessel suspected of being involved in the importation, the MV Wealth, remains detained in the Solomon Islands.
“This alleged plot to distribute nearly three tonnes of cocaine — by arranging for an international vessel to offload the drugs in Northern Queensland before moving them into Sydney — demonstrates how highly organized and determined these criminal networks are, and the extreme lengths they are willing to go to in pursuit of profit,” AFP Commander Stephen Jay said.
Investigators are still trying to determine the origin of the drugs and identify others who may have helped facilitate the alleged importation.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
