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HomeCRIME & PUNISHMENTCHARGESPolice Make Largest Cocaine Seizure in Australia Valued at $760m, 13 Alleged...

Police Make Largest Cocaine Seizure in Australia Valued at $760m, 13 Alleged Drug Dealers Charged

The AFP has charged 11 men and two juveniles following an investigation into a transnational organised crime syndicate accused of conspiring to import 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into Australia by sea. 

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 Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday following a joint investigation between the AFP and Queensland Police Service (QPS). 

The AFP will allege one of the men arrested on Saturday night was the vice-president of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle club’s Brisbane chapter. 

This is the largest-ever seizure of cocaine in Australia. The cocaine had an estimated street value of about $760 million, with the potential to equate to 11.7 million individual street deals had it reached the community.  

The investigation, codenamed Operation Tyrrendor, began in November 2024, following intelligence that a criminal syndicate with links to the Comanchero motorcycle crime gang was planning to import border-controlled drugs into Australia.  

In the past week, the AFP, QPS and 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 about 18km off the northeastern tip of K’gari due to a suspected mechanical breakdown on Saturday, the AFP and QPS initiated multiple arrests at sea in the Bundaberg region and Brisbane.   

Two members of a group planning to collect the drugs on-shore, men aged 43 and 44, were arrested by QPS tactical officers in the vicinity of the Strathdees Boat Ramp, near the Port of Bundaberg, at about 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. 

At about 7.40 p.m., AFP tactical officers boarded the stranded recreational fishing boat off K’gari and arrested the two men on board, aged 35 and 57.  

A search of the vessel allegedly found 51 bales with roped netting around them. Each bale contained about 40kg of a white substance packaged in individual one kilogramme blocks. 

The substance returned a presumptive positive result for cocaine. The total estimated gross weight of the suspected cocaine located is 2.34 tonnes, which is the largest amount of cocaine seized by the AFP. 

Further forensic testing will determine the exact weight and purity of the alleged cocaine. 

QPS Water Police towed the stricken vessel to a marina in Hervey Bay. 

At about 7.50 p.m., three men, aged 20, 22 and 28, were arrested near a fast food restaurant in  Bundaberg East.  

Three more men, aged 20, 28 and 34, and two juveniles, were arrested following a traffic stop near Link Road, Bundaberg East, at about 9:00 p.m. on Saturday. 

In Brisbane, the AFP and QPS executed a search warrant at a house in Victoria Point and arrested the 51-year-old male resident of this address.   

The 11 men and two juveniles are alleged to be members of the criminal syndicate and were each charged with one count of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs contrary to section 307.1 by virtue of section 11.5 of the Criminal Code (Cth). 

The maximum penalty is life imprisonment. 

The investigation was also assisted with intelligence provided by the NSW Crime Commission. 

In the 2023/24 financial year, the AFP seized 31.3 tonnes of illicit drugs and precursors at the border and domestically and assisted international law enforcement authorities seize 41.8 tonnes of illicit drugs. 

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. 

Queensland Police Service Detective Acting Chief Superintendent Craig Morrow said the success of Operation Tyrrendor demonstrated the extraordinary commitment and resources QPS dedicated to combatting organised crime. 

ABF Acting Assistant Commissioner James Copeman said this successful operation was another example of Australian law enforcement agencies working together to protect the Australian community. 

The men are expected to appear before the following courts on Monday at Maryborough Magistrates Court.

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