AUTHORITIES have seized more than half a tonne of cocaine from an international livestock vessel off Western Australia, with four men arrested and charged over the alleged attempted import.
A Perth man, two Sydney men, and a Croatian national, were arrested after members of the public found suspicious packages tied to floatation drums offshore and alerted police on 6 November.
Later that day, West Australian and Federal Police collected the bundles off the coast of Lancelin, about 125km north of Perth.
WA Police assistant commissioner state crime, Tony Longhorn, said the seizure represented a significant disruption to organised crime.
“The successful recovery of these drugs is the result of a complex, multi-agency operation,” he said.
“The transportation and distribution of illicit drugs across our national borders continues to be a high focus for WA Police.”
The value of the shipment was equivalent to roughly 2.6 million street deals valued at more than $170 million.
The taskforce alleges the drugs were dropped into the ocean from an international livestock carrier on its way to Fremantle Harbour.
Police have charged the vessel’s chief officer, a 46-year-old Croatian man, with attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
During a search of the ship, JOCTF investigators found a blue drum and ropes, allegedly similar to those found with the drugs.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said the WA JOCTF continued to work with partner agencies to disrupt organised crime groups.
“The AFP is constantly sharing with and receiving intelligence from international counterparts, so we are in position to defend Australia from these threats,” he said.
Investigators also allege that rails on the vessel had been removed and reinstalled without welding work permits and that a CCTV camera had been covered while the drugs were allegedly offloaded.
On 3 November, emergency services received a call about a vessel in distress off Guilderton. Two Sydney men, age 19 and 36, were found on a sinking boat and were brought safely to shore without injury.
Police began investigations after details of their trip raised suspicions. Those inquiries led to the identification of a 52-year-old Perth man.
Police have alleged all three men made attempts at various times to retrieve the cocaine from the ocean after they launched boats from Two Rocks boat ramp.
The 52-year-old was charged in Perth on November 6, with one count of attempt to possess a prohibited drug.
The 19-year-old was arrested in Sydney on 18 November and was extradited to WA. He appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on 20 November, charged with one count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
The 36-year-old was arrested in Sydney on 20 November. He appeared in court in NSW on 21 November and was also extradited to WA. He has also been charged with one count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug.
The 46-year-old Croatian national was remanded in custody to next appear in Perth Magistrates Court on 23 January, 2026.
The maximum penalty for attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug is life imprisonment.
More arrests are expected as investigations continue.