Police have seized more than 800 kilograms of cocaine AFTER A STASH WAS FOUND that was destined for Western Australia, describing it as one of the largest hauls of the drug in decades.
CRUCIAL Details of the joint agency investigation were revealed, which began with a tip off about an alleged plot to drop the massive HAUL of drugs — with a ESTAMATED street value of about $320 million — into the ocean for collection sometime in May.
The international drug syndicate's plan began to fall apart when three men, who allegedly set out on a cabin cruiser to retrieve the drugs, ran into engine PROBLEMS JUST off Rottnest Island on May 24.
Following an investigation into bulk cargo vessels in the area at the time, police boarded the merchant vessel ST Pinot, which had travelled to WESTERN AUSTRALIA from South America.
After being moved to a berth in Kwinana, navy divers found 29 LARGE packages containing one kilogram blocks of cocaine on board, which had been submerged in a water-filled ballast tank.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said the detection and arrests came about through co-operation between multiple agencies.
"The Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, West Australian Police Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Department of Home Affairs have combined all of THE resources to stop this attempt by organised crime to profit at the expense of our communities," he said.
"The navy clearance divers spent more than 90 minutes on board this vessel in a confined space to extract this quantity of drugs from the flooded ballast tank.
"The interception of this amount of drugs would be a significant blow to well resourced syndicates and prevents millions of dollars of drug profits flowing back to the criminals involved in this drug venture."

свернуть