Australian police have intercepted $1bn Australian {dollars} value of cocaine from getting into the west of the nation, in what’s believed to be the nation’s biggest-ever drug bust.
In a joint collaboration with the US, dubbed “Operation Beech”, 2.4 tonnes of cocaine – with alleged hyperlinks to a Mexican drug cartel – was seized by officers after it had travelled from South America.
The medicine had a road worth of round £562.9m ($1bn Australian {dollars}), and have been equal to half of Australia’s estimated annual consumption, in line with police.
The operation, which has been ongoing since November 2022, led to the arrest of 12 people.
Fake cocaine used to lure suspects
Western Australian Police seized a small vessel on 28 December, with intelligence suggesting that alleged members of the syndicate have been unaware and nonetheless anticipating to obtain the cargo.
In a crafty plan to entice them, police substituted the cargo for faux cocaine utilizing equivalent packaging.
They dropped it 40 nautical miles west of the state capital Perth, whereas monitoring it utilizing drones and helicopters.
It is alleged that members of the syndicate then used two boats – Catalina and Cool Runnings – to make a number of makes an attempt to search out and retrieve the cargo.
On 30 December, tactical response officers arrested three males onboard Cool Runnings, with roughly 1.2 tonnes of the faux cocaine.
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An additional 9 arrests have been made by means of to 13 January, together with on the Great Eastern freeway, roughly 373 miles (600km) east of Perth, the place officers discovered greater than £1.2m ($2m) in money.
Police charged a 39-year-old man and a 37-year-old girl who have been allegedly linked to the syndicate, in line with ABC.
Deputy Commissioner Tony Longhorn stated: “It’s a confidence booster… every time we do these operations we’re testing the limitations of our capabilities.”
He added that implementing collaborative and modern methods in police intelligence could be key to tackling future drug exercise.
Source: information.sky.com”