THE AUSTRALIAN Federal Police and NSW Police Force have arrested and charged two more ‘trusted insiders’ as part of the Multi Agency Strike Team investigation into the alleged importation of more than 500 kg of cocaine.
The latest arrests take to five the number of people alleged to be involved after MAST investigators received intelligence that a group was allegedly planning to remove illicit drugs from an imported shipping container while it was stored at a sea freight facility in Sydney.
Late last week a Dolls Point woman and Blair Athol man were for their alleged roles as trusted insiders in the failed smuggling of 506kg of cocaine, valued at $164 million, concealed behind a false wall in the container in late August 2025.
The cocaine and $300,000 in cash was seized by Strike Force Paiporta in the original raids, when two of the men – who were also trusted insiders – were arrested while trying to gain access to the container.
After the initial arrests, MAST investigators gained intelligence linking the Dolls Point woman, 40, to the trio.
It will be alleged the woman, an employee at the Sydney freight facility, was paid by the syndicate to conduct internal computer searches to locate the container within the facility. Police will allege she searched the location of the container on 13 separate occasions while not at work.
The woman was denied bail at Sutherland Local Court and is expected to reappear at the Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday (17 September).
Following the initial arrests, the Blair Athol man, 39, also came to the attention of investigators. Police will allege he was a forklift driver at the freight facility and the syndicate paid him $10,000 cash to move the container once the Dolls Point woman located it.
MAST investigators executed a search warrant at his home, seizing the man’s electronic devices. He subsequently appeared before the Campbelltown Local Court and was also refused bail. He is expected to reappear before the court on 29 October.
The AFP and NSW PF said inquiries into the source of the illicit drugs and anyone involved in the importation plot remain ongoing with SF Paiporta not ruling out further arrests.