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Posted by David Sexton
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14 May, 2026
A PLOT to import 22.4 kilos of cocaine concealed inside printing machines has seen a 47-year-old Victorian man jailed for nine years.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers intercepted a consignment of five printers in Melbourne way back in April 2017, finding 10 packages of compressed white powder within their paper trays.
Testing showed the substance was cocaine, with the total seizure weighing 22.4kg.
The drugs were removed and substituted with another material.
The consignment was transported via a controlled delivery to a factory in Airport West, Victoria.
On 10 May 2017, police arrested four Victorian men — then aged 31, 33, 36 and 38 — after the consignment was accessed.
All four were subsequently charged.
The now 47-year-old man pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court in May 2024 before being sentenced in the same court on 8 May 2026, to nine years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of four and a half years.
The second man, now aged 45, was sentenced on 24 August, 2022, to 10 years' jail with a non-parole period of six years and six months.
The third man, now aged 42, was sentenced on 21 October 2025, to 10 years' jail with a non-parole period of five years and six months.
The fourth man was found not guilty at trial.
AFP Acting Commander Simone Butcher said organised crime groups continued to use sophisticated consignment methods in attempts to smuggle illicit drugs into Australia.
“Criminal syndicates are motivated by profit and have absolutely no regard for the harm illicit drugs cause in communities,” Acting Commander Butcher said.
“The AFP, as well as our domestic and international partners, are steadfast in our mission to protect the community by disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups and their efforts to profit off the misery caused in our community.”
ABF Commander Clinton Sims said targeting and intercepting organised crime groups would continue to be a top priority for the ABF.
“The ABF has its eyes firmly set on criminals importing illicit substances into the country,” Commander Sims said.
