This is a joint release between the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, Western Australia Police Force, and Department of Home Affairs
The AFP has charged three men for their alleged involvement in the importation and possession of about 560kg of cocaine, after it was discovered during a search warrant in a small coastal town of Western Australia.
The trio from Queensland, aged 49, 32 and 29, were arrested as part of a major joint operation involving the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, Western Australia Police Force, and Department of Home Affairs on 11 August 2023. It is alleged the men were the Australian members of a transnational criminal syndicate that imported the illicit drugs into Western Australia by sea.
The joint operation was launched after intelligence was passed to authorities about a suspicious vessel.
It will be alleged in court that the three men were responsible for purchasing a boat and collecting the cocaine after a bulk carrier vessel dropped it into the ocean off the coast of Western Australia.
On Friday, 11 August, 2023, AFP and WAPF officers executed a search warrant at a Kalbarri property, about 570km north-west of Perth. Officers allegedly located about 560kg of cocaine wrapped in plastic.
Had the cocaine made it to the streets, it could have been responsible for about 2.8 million individual deals. This would have diverted an estimated $224 million from the legitimate economy.
Cocaine is highly addictive and places significant pressure on the Australian healthcare system. Across Australia there were 1,800 cocaine-related hospitalisations in 2020-21 - almost five every day on average.
A boat, two vehicles and about $30,000 in cash was also seized from the property in Kalbarri.
On 11 August 2023, AFP executed additional search warrants at a number of Queensland homes in Toogoolawah, Taigum and Redcliffe allegedly linked to the three men.
A Toogoolawah man, 49, and a Taigum man, 32, from Queensland have been charged with the following offences:
- One count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely cocaine, into Australia, contrary to section 307.1(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- One count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, namely cocaine, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
The third person, a Redcliffe man, 29, has been charged with:
- One count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, namely cocaine, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.
The 32-year-old and 29-year-old men appeared in the Northbridge Magistrates Court on 11 August 2023.
The 49-year-old man appeared in Northbridge Magistrates Court on 12 August 2023.
All men were remanded in custody and will next appear in Perth Magistrates Court on 22 September 2023.
On Wednesday, 9 August 2023, ABF officers boarded a bulk carrier off the Fremantle coast after being identified as a vessel of interest. The vessel was moved to the Port of Fremantle as part of an operation involving our law enforcement partners, before departing for South Australia.
On Wednesday,16 August 2023, the AFP, with the assistance of ABF, executed a search warrant on a bulk carrier in Port Lincoln, South Australia in relation to the Operation.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said the AFP worked tirelessly with its law enforcement partners to target and dismantle the operations of transnational criminal syndicates.
"The AFP and our law enforcement and intelligence partners across the country and offshore will continue to fight illicit operations and bring offenders to justice.
"These arrests demonstrate that transnational criminal syndicates will go to any extreme in their attempts to import harmful illicit substances into our country. We are here to remind them, that they will be stopped and they will be prosecuted," Assistant Commissioner Scanlan said.
ABF Commander Ranjeev Maharaj said cocaine was being actively intercepted and seized by officers at the Australian border in record quantities.
"Our border is one of our most critical strategic national assets and criminals should know that that our efforts will continue to detect, disrupt and dismantle transnational organised crime; criminal elements that seek to test the integrity of Australia's border," Commander Maharaj said.
"This is the second time in as many months that the collective effort of ABF officers and our law enforcement partners have successfully disrupted brazen attempts at bringing large quantities of cocaine along WA's coastline."
Commander Gordon Fairman from WA Police Force's State Crime Operations said the significant seizure further highlights the results being achieved by state and commonwealth agencies working together.
"Removing such a large volume of illicit drugs from our streets is a win for the community, and I am incredibly proud of the contribution WA Police Force made to this multi-agency investigation.
"Countless officers from across WA Police played an integral role in achieving the successful outcome, and I recognise and commend each of them for their hard work and professional tenacity in what can be prolonged and challenging investigations."
