Nine men charged over huge drug importation plot
Maeve Bannister
Nine men are accused of conspiring to use trucking connections to import tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine before distributing the drugs across Australia.
A 10-month investigation by the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, Australian Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has resulted in the arrests of eight people in Victoria and one in Sydney.
The men, aged between 31 and 72, are charged with drug trafficking-related offenses and seven of them face life imprisonment if convicted.
Police said they first became aware of the alleged organization when four crew members were rescued from a commercial trawler that sank off the Victorian coast.
The crew’s 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.
Four of the men were also charged in connection with the seizure of 30 kilograms of methamphetamine in Perth in August and 41 kilograms of cocaine in regional Victoria a few days later.
The syndicate allegedly used connections in the trucking industry to move drugs between states.
AFP Detective Superintendent Ray Imbriano said organized crime groups were sending their business to Australia because of the “insatiable” demand for illegal drugs and society’s willingness to pay top dollar for them.
“These are not harmless substances, and health consequences aside, drug importation fuels violence between rival gangs in our suburbs,” Imbriano said.
“This violence often puts innocent Australians in the crosshairs.”
AAP
Be the first to know when important news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts Turn on notifications in email or in the app.
