EIGHT men have been jailed following an international investigation into an organised crime syndicate's failed plot to ship more than six tonnes of methamphetamine into Australia.
The illegal venture involved four separate consignments sent from Canada, bound for Australia, and a clandestine drug lab operation in Melbourne.
The men will be imprisoned for a combined 95 years and seven months.
Operation Parkes was a joint investigation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Border Force (ABF), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Border Services Agency, New Zealand Police and New Zealand Customs Service.
New South Wales police detective superintendent Peter Faux said the results highlighted the shared determination of law enforcement agencies.
“The successful prosecution of these offenders reflects the ongoing commitment of the NSW Police Force to collaborate with our partner agencies in tackling transnational organised crime,” he said.
“These results are only possible through sustained cooperation, information sharing and a collective determination to protect the Australian community.”
The attempted imports had an estimated street value of $180 million or roughly 19 million individual street deals.
Another 700kg of methamphetamine was seized in New Zealand by local authorities, which was suspected to have links to the same Canadian distributors.
Canadian authorities alerted the AFP when they uncovered 2900kg of liquid methamphetamine in January 2023 in another consignment of canola oil ready to be transported to Australia.
The shipment had an estimated street value of $720 million.
The discovery triggered the start of Operation Parkes.
The drugs were removed and replaced with an inert substance before the bottles of oil in the second consignment were shipped to Melbourne in March 2023.
Two Melbourne men collected the shipment and transported it to storage locations across the city using a logistics business.
Image: AFP & Victoria Police
Victorian Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (JOCT) investigators arrested and charged both men in June 2023.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Martin O’Brien said the flow-on effects of drug imports were significant.
“The impact these illicit substances have on human behaviour translates to road trauma, family violence, homicides, fatal shootings and other violent offending intrinsically linked to illicit drug trafficking,” he said.
Further investigations identified two New South Wales men, 36 and 27, as being responsible for the collection, delivery and storage of portions of this large consignment when it arrived in Sydney from Melbourne.
VIC JOCTF investigators charged the men in February 2024, following a joint investigation with NSW Police.
Three other Victorian men, 31, 28 and 22, were also arrested and charged in June 2023.
The men operated a secret lab in Melbourne, where a large quantity of cocaine, methamphetamine and equipment used to manufacture drugs was located.
Investigators also seized a large quantity of cash and two imitation firearms.
Canadian authorities seized another two separate shipments of liquid methamphetamine in May 2023.
The amount was estimated at about 325kg with an estimated street value of $81 million and an estimated street value of $717 million.
In January 2023, New Zealand Police and New Zealand Customs seized 713kg of crystal methamphetamine and charged six people.
The AFP suspected those drugs were sourced from the same organised crime group accused of trying to smuggle methamphetamine to Australia.
The eight men jailed in Australia under Operation Parkes for their role in the 2900kg liquid methamphetamine seizure in January 2023, were as follows.
A New South Wales man from Hinchinbrook, 27, was the final syndicate member to be prosecuted at the Coffs Harbour District Court.
He pleaded guilty to one count of attempt to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
He was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years and six months.
The remaining individuals, including a US national, received sentences ranging between three years to 23 years.
Charges included attempt to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and trafficking a commercial quantity commercial of methamphetamine.
Acting regional commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Stephen Lee said the investigation was “an excellent example” of international policing cooperation.
“While the individuals arrested were not from Canada, this investigation shows that transnational crime networks are far-reaching,” he said.