Australian police have seized 2.7 tonnes of cocaine – the country’s largest ever such bust – from an underground bunker system in western Sydney.
Two men aged 21 and 25, who allegedly attempted to flee from police were arrested at the scene and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug.
The two men, who were remanded in custody after appearing before a NSW Local Court on Saturday. Both were remanded in custody, due to front court again in August. The young men face life in prison if convicted.
The drugs, with an estimated street value of A$816m (ST$1.4 million), were found on Friday in compartments concealed beneath false floors in three shipping containers at a property in Londonderry.
The drugs were hidden in underground bunkers concealed by false floors within three shipping containers near the rear of the property.
Police say the cocaine was smuggled into Australia via the small town of Midge Point in North Queensland on the orders of an organised crime group.
Police said the raid on the Londonderry property was part of “Operation Minjiang” which was launched in May after 40kg of cocaine was found floating in the water off a boat ramp at Midge Point.
Another six people in Queensland and New South Wales were arrested and charged as part of investigations sparked by the find, police said last week.
An alleged “mother vessel” suspected of being part of the smuggling operation has also been detained in Solomon Islands.
Despite its remoteness, Australia is a lucrative market for the drugs trade, with cocaine typically fetching around A$300 per gram, according to an illegal drugs monitoring system run by the University of New South Wales.
Australians and New Zealanders also have the highest cocaine use rates in the world, according to last year’s UN World Drug Report.
Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said the alleged plot showed “how highly organised and determined these criminal networks are, and the extreme lengths they are willing to go to in pursuit of profit.
Investigations into the origin of the drugs remain ongoing, and we will work with our international and domestic law enforcement partners to identify the criminal syndicates and anyone else involved in facilitating this alleged attempted drug import.”
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