THE AUSTRALIAN Federal Police (AFP) has charged charged 11 men and two juveniles following an attempted importation of 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into Australia by sea.
The AFP charged the baker’s dozen of individuals following an investigation into a transnational organised crime syndicate accused of conspiring to import the illicit consignment.
The men, including the crew of a vessel allegedly attempting to import the illicit drugs into Queensland and multiple parties waiting on shore to collect the cocaine, were arrested on the evening of 30 November and in the early hours of yesterday (1 December), following a joint investigation between the AFP and Queensland Police Service (QPS).
Authorities have claimed the bust as the largest ever seizure of cocaine in Australia, reporting an estimated street value of approximately $760 million dollars, with the potential to equate to 11.7 million individual street deals.
The AFP will allege one of the men arrested was the vice-president of the outlaw motorcycle club’s Brisbane chapter.
The investigation, codenamed Operation Tyrrendor, began in November following intelligence that a criminal syndicate with links to the Comanchero motorcycle gang was planning to import border-controlled drugs into Australia.
In the past week the AFP, QPS and the Australian Border Force (ABF), tracked a recreational fishing boat, recently purchased by a 35-year old man, as it travelled to sea, where it allegedly met a mothership to collect the cocaine, before returning towards the Queensland coastline.
When the fishing boat became stranded approximately 18 kilometres off the northeastern tip of K’gari due to a suspected mechanical breakdown on 30 November, the AFP and QPS initiated multiple arrests at sea, in the Bundaberg region and Brisbane.
A search of the vessel allegedly found 51 bales with roped netting around them, with each bale containing approximately 40kg of a white substance packaged in individual 1kg blocks.
Authorities said further forensic testing will determine the exact weight and purity of the alleged cocaine.
The 11 men and two juveniles were each charged with one count of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
The investigation was reportedly also assisted with intelligence provided by the NSW Crime Commission.
AFP commander Stephen Jay said the AFP was alert to transnational organised crime syndicates (TSOC) attempting to import drugs into Australia via motherships and daughterships, where illicit drugs were smuggled into Australian waters on ships for retrieval by local crews.
“Anyone involved in these at-sea trafficking enterprises is not just risking their freedom – they’re also risking their life. Multiple people have been rescued from the ocean in recent years after hitting trouble while allegedly trying to collect cocaine consignments,” Mr Jay said.
ABF acting assistant commissioner James Copeman said, “This operation has decisively dismantled a major drug trafficking network and sends a clear message: Australian law enforcement agencies are resolute in our mission to protect Australian communities from the destructive effects of illegal drugs”.
The men are expected to appear before the Maryborough, Bundaberg, and Cleveland Magistrates Courts today (2 December).
