Key facts
- Australian police seized a record 2.7 tonnes of cocaine near Sydney.
- The drugs were found buried in underground bunkers on a property in Londonderry.
- The estimated street value of the cocaine is A$816 million.
- Two men, aged 21 and 25, were arrested and charged with drug possession.
- The cocaine was allegedly imported via Midge Point in North Queensland and transported by a Sydney organised crime group.
- The alleged mother ship, MV Wealth, has been detained in the Solomon Islands.
Australian police have made the country's largest-ever cocaine seizure, discovering 2.7 tonnes of the drug buried in underground bunkers on a property in Londonderry, north-west Sydney. The haul has an estimated street value of A$816 million (€499 million), equivalent to approximately 3 million street-level deals.
Two men, aged 21 and 25, were arrested at the scene and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug. They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Police allege the cocaine was imported into Australia near Midge Point in North Queensland and transported south by road, a distance of 1,800 kilometres, under the orders of a Sydney-based organised crime group, allegedly linked to the Coconut Cartel syndicate.
The discovery was made as part of Operation Minjiang, a multi-agency taskforce investigating drug trafficking along Australia's east coast. Since May, the operation has also seized 178kg of cocaine and 142kg of methamphetamine, bringing the total amount of drugs seized to over three tonnes. The alleged 'mother vessel' used for the import, MV Wealth, a Belize-flagged cargo ship, has been detained in Solomon Islands for further investigation.
Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay stated that organised crime groups are increasingly targeting Queensland’s 13,000 kilometre coastline to smuggle narcotics into the country in alarming quantities, noting that Australia is one of the most lucrative markets for drug traffickers due to high prices for illicit substances.