AUSTRALIAN Border Force officers discovered 700 kilograms of cocaine while inspecting containers on the containership Maersk Inverness at Port Botany.
The officers discovered the drugs on 22 July, the day after the vessel docked at the port.
The drugs were found packaged in denim bags inside a shipping container described as containing wood products.
AFP investigators later seized 28 denim bags, each holding about 25 kilograms of cocaine in brick form.
Forensic examination of the drugs identified different emblems on the bricks of cocaine, including the numerals “5” and “365” and the word “Netflix”.
Police estimate the drugs are worth at least $280 million.
Preliminary enquiries on the ship have been completed and the vessel has been allowed to continue its journey.
Police are urging anybody with information about this matter to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
AFP Detective Inspector Luke Wilson said the ship had stopped at ports in central and South America before making its way to Australia.
“We are still investigating where the drugs were loaded and who was planning to collect them in Australia,” Det-Inspector Luke Wilson said.
“The interception of this amount of drugs would be a significant blow to a well-resourced syndicate and prevents millions of dollars of drug profit flowing back into the syndicate to fund their lavish lifestyles or next criminal venture.”
ABF detained goods NSW Superintendent Joanne Yeats outlined the ABF’s role in disrupting the criminal network’s supply of drugs into Australia.
“This seizure demonstrates the technical expertise of our dedicated ABF officers who made the initial detection and stopped this large shipment of cocaine from entering our community,” Superintendent Yeats said.
“We continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure the Australian community is kept safe from the importation of dangerous drugs.”
The 3460-TEU Maersk Inverness is on Maersk’s OC1 service, which calls the ports of Manzanillo, Cristobal, Cartagena, Philadelphia, Charleston and Balboa, in addition to Sydney, Melbourne Tauranga and Port Chalmers.
