Authorities seeking assistance after Port Botany cocaine seizure

AUTHORITIES are seeking public information after 534kg of cocaine was found concealed in a shipping container at Port Botany earlier this week [13 July].

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers examined the consignment, which was bound for Victoria, and identified suspicious packages inside the container. A subsequent inspection located 14 duffel bags hidden under a tarp, each containing between 30 and 40 one-kilogram blocks of cocaine.

The matter was referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which seized the drugs for further examination. Authorities said the quantity had an estimated street value of $400.5 million and could have resulted in 267,000 street-level deals if it had entered the community.

The container was shipped from Texas via Panama before arriving in Sydney, with the consignment due for delivery to an address in Melbourne. Inquiries are continuing to identify the criminal syndicate behind the importation and its intended recipients.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit an anonymous report online.

AFP Detective Superintendent Morgen Blunden said the AFP and its law enforcement partners had disrupted a significant attempted drug import before it could reach the Australian community.

“Criminal networks which attempt to bring harmful drugs into our country have no regard for the devastation these substances cause to individuals, families and communities,” Det-Supt Blunden said.

“The AFP is committed to identifying and dismantling syndicates responsible for large-scale importations, but we need the community’s help.

“We are urging anyone with information in relation to this foiled drug import attempt to come forward. You are our eyes and ears, and any information may be crucial in helping us identify those responsible for this failed importation.”

ABF Superintendent Jared Leighton said organised crime groups would continue to look for new ways to move illicit drugs into Australia, but officers remained focused on targeting, screening and examining high-risk cargo.

“The criminals behind these importations are motivated by profit and have no regard for the devastating impact illicit drugs have on individuals, families and communities,” Supt Leighton said.

“ABF officers are on the frontline every day, using intelligence and risk-based targeting to detect and disrupt serious threats, like this more than half a tonne of cocaine.

“Working alongside our law enforcement partners, we are committed to protecting the Australian community from the significant harm caused by illicit drugs.”