A drug ''mothership'' lurking in deep water has allegedly fed a $100 million cocaine and meth pipeline into Australia.
Authorities say bricks of cocaine were shuttled from the vessel, launching a shipment they allege was bound for Australia's east coast.
The suspected mothership, the MV Wealth, has been detained in the Solomon Islands as part of the investigation.
In just three weeks, officers seized 178kg of cocaine and 142kg of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $100 million.
Six men are accused of helping move and stash the drugs through a chain of suburban safe houses stretching from regional Queensland to western Sydney.
The operation, codenamed Operation Minjiang, kicked off after 40kg of cocaine was found floating off a boat ramp at Midge Point in north Queensland alongside a burnt‑out flatbed truck with a crane.
