Australian police have intercepted $1bn Australian dollars worth of cocaine from entering the west of the country, in what is 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 links to a Mexican drug cartel – was seized by officers after it had travelled from South America.

The drugs had a street value of around £562.9m ($1bn Australian dollars), and were equivalent to half of Australia’s estimated annual consumption, according to police.

The operation, which has been ongoing since November 2022, led to the arrest of 12 individuals.

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 were unaware and still expecting to receive the shipment.

In a cunning plan to trap them, police substituted the cargo for fake cocaine using identical packaging.

They dropped it 40 nautical miles west of the state capital Perth, while monitoring it using drones and helicopters.

It is alleged that members of the syndicate then used two boats – Catalina and Cool Runnings – to make several attempts to find and retrieve the cargo.

On 30 December, tactical response officers arrested three men onboard Cool Runnings, with approximately 1.2 tonnes of the fake cocaine.

Read more:
How laughing gas addiction ‘messed up’ man’s life
Cocaine worth £35m found on small boat in Sussex
Nitrous oxide is being sold on the streets

A further nine arrests were made through to 13 January, including on the Great Eastern highway, roughly 373 miles (600km) east of Perth, where officers found more than £1.2m ($2m) in cash.

Police charged a 39-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman who were allegedly connected to the syndicate, according to ABC.

Deputy Commissioner Tony Longhorn said: “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 innovative strategies in police intelligence would be key to tackling future drug activity.

Related posts:

Explosion at COVID testing centre near Amsterdam appears intentional – police 10 people working for UK charity with links to Diana and Harry killed in Afghanistan Olympic legend turned successful businessman warns West not to push Ethiopia Irish farmers protest over climate change plans and lack of support Ukrainian tennis player ‘ready to swap a racket for a gun’ Hopes of an unexpected victory on a long and terrifying weekend in the defence of Kyiv Ukraine raises millions in crypto donations ‘to destroy as many Russian soldiers as we can’ More than 40 Russian diplomats expelled from four countries over alleged spying Last minute funding made available to save island from being cut off from Irish mainland, Sky News understands Shinzo Abe’s body taken back to Tokyo after suspected gunman admits killing former PM Putin’s martial law call helps him look strong at home – but the charade is crumbling Size of operation to bury Turkey’s quake dead ‘staggering’ – with tens of thousands feared still missing