Western Australia police joined the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, and the Australian Border Force in being led to an NSW man and a German national with suspected links to organized crime to be charged with allegedly importing 320 kg of cocaine into Australia.
The multi-agency investigation led to the men’s 37 and 49 arrests in WA’s Port Hedland last week.
Police said the older man was arrested in an RV where investigators reportedly found illegal drugs worth at least $128 million.
They said the 320 blocks they seized weighed one kilogram each.
Acting Commissioner to the WA Police Force, Col Blanch, said the weekend seizure was further evidence that law enforcement agencies worked closely together to make Western Australia unwelcome to drug traffickers.
“Illegal drugs are causing massive damage in our community, and the WA Police Force will use every available police capacity to target the drug traffickers who are trying to take advantage of the misery of others,” Acting Commissioner Blanch said.
“Our specialist officers have been targeting these particular imports from land, sea, and air, and the hunt is not over – we will continue to pursue anyone associated with this syndicate or any other drug trafficking organization, no matter where they hide all over the world. world.”
John Tanti, the acting deputy commissioner at the AFP, said the results should send a strong signal to organized crime groups looking to import drugs into Australia.
“Australia is not a haven for criminals. We’re coming after you and won’t stop,” A/Assistant Commissioner Tanti said.
“This amount of cocaine could have been sold to about 320,000 Australians as if it had been split into street-level 1g deals and about $128 million in the pockets of the criminals involved in its distribution,” he said.
“Australian law enforcement and our partners continue to disrupt transnational crime successfully; TheAFP will continue to work with foreign agencies to investigate and disrupt the supply of illicit drugs from around the world to Australia.
Australian Border Force commander James Copeman said the ABF had a strong presence along the Western Australian coast and offshore to contribute to a multi-layered approach to multi-agency border protection.
“Our highly trained officers use a range of enforcement capabilities, sharing information and intelligence with our partners, while our air, maritime, and land surveillance helps protect the Australian community by disrupting those seeking to import illegal drugs,” said Commander Copeman.
National administrator. South Operations of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Damien Appleby, said ACIC worked tirelessly with partners to make Australia a hostile place for criminal syndicates and combat these dangerous drugs’ supply.
