Nine charged in alleged multi-tonne drug import plot

The nine men are accused of conspiring to import tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine before using truck connections to distribute the drugs into Australia.

A 10-month investigation by the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, Australian Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission resulted in the arrests of these men, eight in Victoria and one in Sydney.

The offenders, aged between 31 and 72, were sentenced on various drug trafficking-related charges, with seven men facing life imprisonment if convicted.

Police first became aware of the alleged syndicate when four crew members were rescued from a commercial trawler that sank off the Victorian coast.

The crews’ movements were monitored after police became suspicious as to why they sailed in bad weather and lacked the usual commercial fishing equipment.

The group is alleged to have attempted to travel to Bass Strait multiple times to travel to a drop zone where they would pick up significant quantities of drugs from a “mother ship” traveling in Australian waters.

Police said these attempts were unsuccessful.

But four of the men have also been charged in connection with the seizure of 30 kilos of methamphetamine in Perth last August and 41 kilos of cocaine in regional Victoria days later.

The syndicate allegedly used connections in the trucking industry to move drugs between states.

AFP Detective Inspector Ray Imbriano said organized criminals were sending their business to Australia because of the “insatiable” demand for illegal drugs and society’s willingness to pay large amounts of money for them.

“These are not harmless substances and, apart from the health consequences, drug importation is fueling violence between rival gangs in our suburbs,” he said.

“This violence often puts innocent Australians in the crosshairs.”