THE AUSTRALIAN Federal Police say they have charged six crew members of the merchant ship MV Raider after an investigation into an organised crime syndicate which police allege was involved in the attempted importation of one tonne of cocaine into Australia.
The case hit the headlines in February when French law enforcement agents boarded the ship in international waters, prompting discussion about the right of authorities to board ships on the high seas.
It will be alleged the men from Honduras and Ecuador operated what police say was a specially modified 40-metre vessel, which officers allege contained three ‘professionally built and installed’ smuggling hides.
Police will allege these hides were built in Central America for hiding illicit goods.
An investigation into the vessel began in January, after French authorities intercepted the ship in international waters.
The AFP said the French Navy seized and disposed of what authorities alleged was 4.8 tonnes of cocaine before the ship — the MV Raider — and its crew were released in accordance with the laws of French Polynesia.
According to the AFP, police suspected an Australian-based crew operating on behalf of a larger criminal syndicate was looking to rendezvous with the MV Raider to conduct an at-sea transfer within Australia’s economic exclusion zone.
Australian Border Force officers, with the support of the NSW Police Marine Area Command, met the MV Raider 180nm off the NSW coast in late February.
The ship’s crew were interviewed and told they would not be permitted entry into an Australian port.
On 12 March, the MV Raider placed a distress call to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
NSW Police escorted the ship into Sydney Harbour on 13 March after the crew reported mechanical issues and they had run low on critical supplies.
Police conduct an inspection of the vessel. Image: AFP, ABF & NSW Police
ABF officials detained the crew, who authorities said were classified as unlawful maritime arrivals, and transported them to Villawood Immigration Detention Centre.
Police allege an examination of the crew’s electronic devices identified evidence suggesting the MV Raider had further drugs on board.
AFP investigators, with the assistance of ABF Maritime Operations NSW, raided the ship while it was anchored in Snails Bay, in Sydney Harbour on 25 March.
The AFP said it seized several documents as well as a range of electronic devices allegedly used by the crew to coordinate the distribution of cocaine within Australian waters.
The AFP said it seized a satellite phone police allege was used by senior members of the MV Raider’s crew to communicate with the syndicate’s bosses based offshore.
Police allege that during the vessel search, officers identified what police described as three concealed compartments suspected of having previously contained up to six tonnes of cocaine
A search warrant was also executed on the ship’s crew at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre where several items of clothing were seized for forensic examination.
It will be alleged that further evidence seized links six members of the ship’s crew to at least one drop-off of drugs within Australia’s territorial waters.
On Saturday 28 March, AFP officers arrested and charged:
A 26-year-old Honduran man
A 63-year-old Honduran man
A 31-year-old Honduran man
A 36-year-old Honduran man
A 61-year-old Honduran man
A 43-year-old Ecuadorian man
The group has been charged with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs.
The men are expected to appear before the NSW Bail Division Courts today [30th March].
Inquiries are said to remain ongoing.
Source: AFP, ABF & NSW Police
AFP Commander Brett James said the AFP was alert to organised criminal syndicates attempting to import drugs into Australia in custom built motherships.
“We know that criminals go to extreme lengths, and often risk their own lives, to smuggle drugs into Australia with no regard to the harm they cause,” Commander James said.
“Multiple people have been rescued from the ocean in recent years after hitting trouble while allegedly trying to collect cocaine consignments.
“These arrests highlight the strengths of our partnerships both in Australia and offshore to disrupt the illicit drug trade.”
ABF Commander Rose Cracknell said the ABF continues to make our international border a hostile environment for any criminal syndicate to do their business.
“We know that criminal groups will try to use Australia’s vast coastline to attempt to breach our borders, but criminals should always assume we are watching and ready to take action.”
Superintendent Joseph McNulty, Commander of the NSW Police Marine Area Command, said law enforcement cooperation was key to combating the threats posed by transnational crime.
“Working collaboratively with the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force, NSW Police Marine Area Command plays a critical role in deterring, disrupting and intercepting suspicious vessels.”