Australian Police Make Record Cocaine Bust

Eleven men and two juveniles have been charged following an investigation into a transnational organized crime syndicate accused of conspiring to import 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into Australia by sea.

This is the largest ever seizure of cocaine in Australia. The cocaine had an estimated street value of about A$760 million ($494 million) with the potential to equate to 11.7 million individual street deals, had it reached the community.

The men, including the crew of a vessel allegedly attempting to import the illicit drugs into Queensland and multiple parties waiting on shore to collect the cocaine, were arrested following a joint investigation between the AFP and Queensland Police Service (QPS).

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) will allege one of the men arrested on Saturday night was the vice-president of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle club's Brisbane chapter.

The investigation, codenamed Operation Tyrrendor, began in November.

Over the past week the AFP, QPS and Australian Border Force (ABF), tracked a recreational fishing boat as it travelled to sea where it allegedly met a mothership to collect the cocaine, before returning towards the Queensland coastline.

When the fishing boat became stranded about 18km off the northeastern tip of K'gari due to a suspected mechanical breakdown on Saturday, the AFP and QPS initiated multiple arrests at sea, in the Bundaberg region and in Brisbane.

A search of the stranded vessel found 51 bales with roped netting around them. Each bale contained about 40kg of a white substance packaged in individual 1kg blocks.

The 11 men and two juveniles were each charged with one count of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs. This charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

In the 2023/24 financial year, the AFP seized 31.3 tonnes of illicit drugs and precursors at the border and domestically and assisted international law enforcement authorities seize 41.8 tonnes of illicit drugs.