A MAN has been sentenced to nine years in jail for a shipment of 188 kilograms of cocaine found in a shipping container in 2019.
The New South Wales man was arrested as part of an international, multi-agency investigation of the importation supplied by a Mexican drug cartel.
He was one of five men believed to be connected to the shipment, which had an estimated street value of $47 million.
The investigation was launched in February 2019, after Australian Border Force officers at a Sydney Container Examination Facility found anomalies in a bulk metal consignment sent from Mexico.
Police investigating the 2019 cocaine import observed the man moving hundreds of aluminium ingots stacked on pallets and attempting to access the cocaine he believed was hidden inside them.
The Australian Federal Police estimates this seizure saved the community more than $120 million in drug-related harm, including associated crime, healthcare and loss of productivity.
Australian Border Force Enforcement Operations East acting commander Hany Elbatoory said the ABF would continue to make it as difficult as possible for criminal syndicates to illegally import illicit drugs such as cocaine into Australia.
“Those who choose to be involved in this kind of activity can expect their illicit goods to be detected and stopped at the border, and receive significant criminal penalties for their actions, he said.
NSW Police Force Drug and Firearms Squad commander Detective Superintendent John Watson said forensic drug profiling of cocaine found in Australia continues to show most originates from Colombia and other areas of South America.
“The reality is that by partaking in both the importation or recreational use of cocaine here and overseas, you are supporting the proliferation of serious crime around the world and the devastation of other people’s lives,” Mr Watson said.
NSW Crime Commission commissioner Michael Barnes said the success of the operation highlighted the ability of state and Commonwealth agencies to disrupt the supply of illicit drugs to Australia.
“The NSW Crime Commission is proud of the work we do with our partner agencies, bringing our respective unique capabilities to bear on organised [criminal] networks,” he said.
The man pleaded guilty on 29 April this year to attempting to possess a commercial quantity of cocaine.
He was sentenced on 19 August to nine years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of five years by the Downing Centre District Court.
