A Brazilian national has been charged over a failed plan to import about 10kg of cocaine into Australia on a cruise ship from Argentina.
The man, 48, is expected to appear before Downing Centre Local Court today (17 March, 2025), charged with importing and possessing border controlled drugs.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers allegedly found 28 individually wrapped packages of cocaine hidden in the ceiling cavity of the man's cabin when they searched a cruise ship on Saturday (15 March, 2025) after it docked at Sydney Harbour.
They also uncovered body packing material in the ceiling cavity and in the wardrobe, which is used by drug couriers to try to carry drugs across borders or other security checkpoints without detection.
The ABF alerted the AFP after initial testing of the substance in the packages returned a positive result for cocaine.
When the AFP reviewed the man's mobile phone they allegedly found evidence relating to the drug trafficking.
The AFP established the packages contained about 10kg of cocaine and charged the man with:
One count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.1(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and
One count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code (Cth).
Both offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
AFP Detective Superintendent Kristie Cressy said the AFP worked closely with the ABF and other partners to stop illicit drugs entering the country, no matter the method.
"Drug traffickers are motivated by greed, they do not care about the harm they cause," Det Supt Cressy said.
"This amount of cocaine could have been sold in the community as 10,000 individual street deals of 1 gram for about $3 million.
"In 2022-23 there were 985 cocaine-related hospitalisations nationally*, more than two each day on average, which puts pressure on the health system.
"Our message to criminal groups is that the AFP and our partners will be unyielding in our efforts to protect the community from the harm caused by illicit drugs and associated criminal behaviour."
ABF Superintendent Matt O'Connor said officers were assessing intelligence and working with partner agencies both here and offshore 24/7 to monitor all entry points into Australia.
"The cruising season brings with it additional opportunity for criminal syndicates to attempt to smuggle illicit drugs into the country, however Border Force officers are very attuned to their pivoting tactics," Supt O'Connor said.
"Our ABF officers process and border clear thousands of passengers and crew members on every international cruise ship which arrives into Sydney, and are ready to respond to any threat which may present itself."
*Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
