$1 billion worth of cocaine intercepted in Australia's biggest drug bust
A sneaky tactic from police led to the arrest of those allegedly receiving the 2.4 tonnes of cocaine.
Police in Western Australia have revealed how a sting operation reeled in a host of alleged criminals in what is Australia's biggest ever drug bust.
On Saturday, Western Australia Police revealed 2.4 tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of $1billion, was intercepted in November off the South American coastline during a joint operation with international forces.
With intelligence suggesting the alleged recipients of the drugs were unaware of the development, police substituted the cargo with fake drugs. Ensuring the packaging was identical to that used by the cartel, they were dropped into the ocean 40km from Perth with the belief the Australian arm of the syndicate would attempt to retrieve it.
"We knew there was going to be people that were going to attend that location to collect that. We were willing to wait as long as it took for those people to arrive," Detective Inspector Jeff Beros told reporters.
Police allege two vessels attempted to retrieve the cargo during a three-day period commencing on December 28, the same day police planted the cargo.
On December 30, Tactical Response Group officers arrested three people on board one of the vessels, with 1.2 tonnes of the substitute substance, police said.
The vessel, named Cool Runnings, had experienced steering issues and washed up ashore, with the other vessel then towing it out to sea before allegedly transferring the inert cargo over.
A day later police executed search warrants across Perth, charging nine men with attempting to possess 1.2 tonnes of cocaine.
Police believed members of the syndicate still believed 1.2 tonnes of cocaine was available to purchase and on January 9, a 28-year-old NSW man was charged with attempting to posses 200kg of cocaine. On January 13, a 39-year-old man and 37-year-old woman were charged after police allegedly located $2 million cash in a traffic stop.
“The operation sends a message to international drug traffickers – your deadly drugs are not welcome here, and we will work closely and innovatively with our on shore and off shore law enforcement partners to dismantle your operations," Police Commissioner Col Blanch said.
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