Police have reportedly seized about 700 kgs of cocaine with an estimated value of $280 million but have appealed to the public to help smash the criminal syndicate behind it.
Australian Border Force officers discovered the drugs on 22 July while inspecting containers on a vessel named the Maersk Inverness at Sydney’s Port Botany.
Federal police reportedly confiscated 28 denim bags, each loaded with approximately 25 kilos of cocaine in brick form. The agencies mentioned that forensic inspection helped identify emblems on the bricks, including the numerals 5 and 365 and the word Netflix.
Luke Wilson, an AFP Detective Inspector, said that the vessel that had been permitted to continue its journey had reportedly stopped at ports in South America and Central America before sailing to Australia.
Wilson said that the interception of these drugs would be a massive blow to what is likely to be a well-resourced criminal syndicate.
He mentioned that they are still investigating where the drugs had been loaded and who was supposed to pick them up.
The AFP estimates this seizure saved the community over $451 million in drug-related harm.
Joanne Yeats, the ABF’s Detained Goods’ NSW Superintendent, mentioned that the seizure reflects the technical specialization and experience of the officers who could detect the drugs.
She added the agency had successfully disrupted the criminal channel’s significant supply by preventing the cocaine shipment from entering their community.
Anyone with relevant information is requested to call Crime Stoppers at @1800 333 000.
References: New York Post, DCN, Paper Writer