Australian police seize record 2.3 tonnes of cocaine from fishing boat

(CLO) Australian police have seized a record 2.3 tonnes of cocaine and arrested 13 people in raids after a boat carrying suspects ran into trouble off the Queensland coast, authorities said on December 2.

The drugs were worth an estimated 760 million AUD ($494 million) and, if distributed, would be equivalent to 11.7 million street deals in a country of 28 million people, according to the Australian Federal Police.

Investigators said the drugs were shipped from an unidentified South American country.

Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said the arrests on November 30 and December 1 followed a month-long investigation following information that the Comancheros bikie gang was planning a multi-tonne smuggling operation.

Australian Federal Police officers stand with about 350kg of seized cocaine, at a press conference in Brisbane, Australia, on December 2. Photo: AAP

The smugglers made two attempts to ship the drugs to Australia from a mother ship floating hundreds of kilometres off the coast. Their first boat ran into trouble, while the second sank on November 30, leaving the suspects stranded offshore for hours until police raided and seized the drugs, Mr Jay said.

Mr Jay said the mother ship remained in international waters and was not detained.

Police have seized more than a tonne of cocaine in the past, but the weekend's seizure is the largest ever in Australia.

Those arrested face charges of conspiracy to import drugs into Australia by sea and will appear in court on 2 November. The maximum penalty for this charge is life imprisonment.

Police said some people were arrested on the boat, while others were waiting on shore to pick up the drugs. Two of those arrested were under 18, all were Australian citizens.

“Australia is an attractive market for organised crime groups to traffic drugs such as cocaine,” Mr Jay said.

Ngoc Anh (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/canh-sat-uc-thu-giu-ky-luc-23-tan-cocain-tu-tau-danh-ca-post323846.html