AN EIGHTH man has been found guilty over the importation of 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine into Geraldton.
The drugs were detected in 2017. Police said it was, at the time, the largest meth seizure in Australian history.
The 53-year-old man found guilty in the Western Australia Supreme Court on Monday (3 April) co-ordinated the collection of illicit drugs from a “mothership” in international waters, according to the Australian Federal Police.
The AFP said eight men from two states – including three men regarded as high-level Australian facilitators, two members of the boat crew and three members of the shore party – have now been convicted over the maritime drug smuggling plot.
A ninth man was acquitted over his alleged involvement in the enterprise, while a 10th man had his charge withdrawn.
The AFP, WA Police Force, Australian Border Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and AUSTRAC launched an investigative operation in 2017 in response to suspicions about a previous successful importation into Geraldton.
The AFP said on 18 December 2017, a boat crew took the 16-metre cruiser Valkoista from Geraldton out to sea about 300 nautical miles off the WA coast, where it came alongside an Asian-based fishing trawler.
Crew members from the two vessels each showed half a matching bank note as identifying tokens before 60 bags of drugs were transferred to the Valkoista.
While the drugs were being collected, other members of the syndicate flew into WA from Adelaide and Sydney, organised vehicles and drove the 400 kilometres up to Geraldton.
On 21 December 2017, police were still watching as the Valkoista pulled into Geraldton jetty and the waiting shore party helped to transfer 59 bags of methamphetamine from the boat to a white van, with one bag left on the boat.
As they prepared to leave the jetty, police moved in. Six men were arrested in Geraldton, another two were arrested in Perth and two others were arrested in Sydney.
The AFP said since those arrests, three men pleaded guilty, and five others were convicted after trials in WA.
Seven were convicted of offences of importing commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs, while one man was convicted of possessing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said multiple criminal groups in New South Wales and South Australia, with connections to international outlaw motorcycle gangs and triad criminal groups, had combined their resources to organise the large-scale importation.
“This successful joint agency investigation prevented these criminal groups from profiting at the expense of the Australian community,” Assistant Commissioner Scanlan said.
“Methamphetamine continues to ravage our communities and remains the drug of most concern to Australian law enforcement.”
Assistant Commissioner Scanlan said this amount of meth could have been sold as at least 12 million street-level deals.
He said the men convicted were part of a well-resourced and sophisticated syndicate of criminal groups with transnational connections.
“The AFP will not rest in our efforts both domestically and offshore to detect, disrupt and deter organised crime, who harm the Australian community through this vile trade.”
