More than a dozen people have been charged over an alleged multimillion dollar attempted import of cocaine into Australia, the largest in the nation’s history.
Australian federal police charged 11 men and two juveniles with conspiring to import 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into the country by sea.
Authorities claim they busted the attempt by a transnational organised crime syndicate to import the illegal drug with a street value of about $760m that would have equated to 11.7m individual street deals.
The arrests were triggered after a recreational fishing boat police were tracking ran into mechanical trouble and became stranded about 18km off the north-eastern tip of the Queensland sand island of K’gari (also known as Fraser Island), forcing the Australian federal police and Queensland police service to execute multiple arrests at sea, in the Bundaberg region and Brisbane.
AFP Cmdr Stephen Jay told press in Brisbane on Monday that the fishing vessel – or “daughter boat” – had rendezvoused with a mother ship in international waters 460km off the Queensland coast to collect the cocaine.
Jay said it was the second ill-fated attempt by the syndicate to import drugs via the Queensland coast after a previous attempt using another boat also saw that vessel break down. The alleged traffickers recently bought the replacement boat for $150,000.
In addition to this spate of arrests, Jay said there had been “multiple people” rescued while attempting to retrieve drugs at sea in recent times.
He said the sting came on the back of intelligence received last month that sparked a joint investigation between the AFP and QPS.
One of the arrests took place at a nightclub in Brisbane, while two men aged 43 and 44 were arrested near the Bundaberg coast awaiting the boat’s arrival.
In Brisbane, police also searched a house in Victoria Point and arrested its 51-year-old male resident.
All 13 of the accused drug traffickers are charged with the single count of conspiracy to import the 2.34 tonnes of cocaine, a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
“Investigations into the origin of the drugs remain ongoing and we will work with our international and domestic law enforcement partners to identify the criminal syndicates and anyone else involved in facilitating this alleged drug import,” Jay said.
“Let these arrests serve as a warning to those criminal syndicates plotting attempts to bring illicit substances into our country, we stand together ready to act and disrupt your criminal activities, together with our law enforcement partners.”
The amount of cocaine allegedly attempted to be imported weighs the same as a Ford Raptor ute.
Police investigations began in November after intel led authorities to a criminal syndicate allegedly linked to the Comanchero gang.
All 13 will face the Maryborough, Bundaberg and Cleveland magistrates courts on Monday.
The drug bust comes after police seized more than $160m worth of the illicit substance in April.
Under Operation Orion last month, Colombian authorities, working with dozens of other countries, set a global record for any single anti-narcotics operation, seizing 225 tonnes of cocaine in the space of six weeks.
Jay would not be drawn on whether this bust was linked to that investigation but did say Australia police were “very well served” by intelligence.
“Obviously we have, through our international network, the ability to reach into Colombia and that will be, certainly, one of the aspects we’ll look at,’ he told press.
Operation Orion interrupted a “narco submarine” travelling on a new drug trafficking route to Australia, however Jay said the mother ship in this latest bust off Queensland was not a submersible vessel.
The origin of the drugs was still being investigated, he said. It was branded with a white horse on a red circle and the words “Ford Mustang”. It was transported in 1kg blocks roped together in 51 bales.
“There is a degree of pride for some of these syndicates around their drugs,” Jay said. “They do brand them.”
