A 41 year old man who lives in the northern part of New South Wales is now under charges following an incident last week when more than 200 kg of cocaine was found hidden inside a catamaran that was about to sail into the Tweed River, close to the Queensland border.
The catamaran was stopped on Thursday, 16 April 2020, by the Gold Coast Joint Organised Crime Taskforce which is an organisation consisting of several agencies such as the Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police Service, Australian Border Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and NSW Police.
According to reports, the catamaran had sailed out from Tweed River two days ago, specifically on 14 April 2020, going north before stopping its transponder.
As per investigators, the boat then picked up the drugs while out at sea and activated its transponder before heading back towards the shore where it was stopped.
NSW Police Marine Area Command members located in Tweed Heads have seized and secured the boat for forensic purposes.
It was stated by the officers that approximately 200 kilograms of cocaine were discovered hidden in black duffle bags on the boat, as well as $100,000 worth of cash.
The bust operation had been aimed at a criminal syndicate operating in the region, which was believed to be transnational and linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs, whose modus operandi entailed shipping drugs into the country.
The suspect from Tweed Heads was brought before the NSW Bail Division Court on Friday, 17 April.
One count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug under the Criminal Code was laid against the accused, who was denied bail; he will reappear before the court on 12 June, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
After the seizure, officers launched search warrants in southeast Queensland and northern NSW.
Further raids cannot be excluded yet as the investigation is ongoing and detectives attempt to find out who exactly delivered the drugs to the shores of Australia.
AFP Detective Inspector Steven Wiggins stated that the operation proved just how much cooperation there was among organizations.
“Transnational criminal syndicates have made massive profits from providing Australia with its illegal drug needs.
In a similar vein, ABF Superintendent Jim Ley commented on the situation.
“This quantity of cocaine would mean even more addiction, crime and violence within our communities. Thankfully, this operation prevented this damage from happening,” Supt Ley explained.
The operation comes after a series of major seizures of cocaine aboard ships along the eastern seaboard of Australia.
In December 2024, officials seized 2.3 tonnes of cocaine from a broken down fishing boat off the Queensland coast, again believed to have ties to outlaw motorcycle gangs. The total street value of this bust amounted to about $760 million.
