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AAP
AAP
National
Maureen Dettre

Second man charged over $20m cocaine haul

Police recovered about 54kg of cocaine packaged in waterproof bricks. (PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO) (AAP)

A second man has been charged as NSW police continue to investigate the death of a diver they believe was involved in a plot to import cocaine worth $20 million.

Police believe 31-year-old Brazilian national Bruno Borges Martins was a drug mule who drowned near the Port of Newcastle while trying to retrieve about 54 kilograms of cocaine - packaged in waterproof bricks - from a ship or the ocean floor in May.

The State Crime Command's Organised Crime Squad established Strike Force Groove to investigate, with help from the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, Northern Territory Police and Queensland Police.

A 62-year-old man was charged earlier this year with manslaughter, two counts of people smuggling, and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime over his alleged role in the incident and remains before the courts.

Police say a 20-year-old Queensland man attended Tweed Heads police station on the far north coast on Tuesday and was arrested by strike force detectives.

He was charged with importing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drug and supplying more than a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

The man was refused bail to appear at Tweed Heads Local Court on Wednesday.

Investigations under Strike Force Groove continue.

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