cocaine

12 Arrested in 2.4 Tonne Australian Cocaine Bust

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2023

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U.S. and Australian authorities have released details of a joint operation that resulted in the seizure of a 2.4 tonne shipment of cocaine and the arrest of its Western Australian buyers.

In November, U.S. forces intercepted the drug shipment off the coast of South America. The cargo was headed for Australia, so they notified Australian authorities of the smuggling attempt. The cargo’s owners did not appear to be aware that U.S. authorities had taken their drugs, creating an opportunity to set up a sting at the receiving end.

To catch the cocaine importers at the Australian end, the Western Australia Police put together a fake cargo of “cocaine” made of plaster-of-paris. They dropped this consignment over the side at a position about 50 nm off the coast, then waited to see who would come pick it up.

On December 30, the retrieval crew allegedly used two motor boats, the Catalina and Cool Runnings, to transit to the dropoff area and hunt for the floating parcels. They located and retrieved heavy bundles of fake cocaine while WA Police units watched them on drone video feeds. When they neared shore, police swooped in and made the arrest.

https://maritime-executive.com/article/nine-arrested-in-2-4-tonne-australian-cocaine-bust

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ABC (Australia News) Victorian men jailed over attempted ‘astronomical’ cocaine import into South Australia

Published

4 weeks ago

January 30, 2025

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In short:

Two men have been sentenced to three years’ jail with a non-parole period of 18 months for trying to import more than 100 kilograms of cocaine into South Australia.

The judge said the pair had followed the drugs from WA to SA on the instruction of their drug dealers in order to pay off drug debts they had accumulated.

What’s next?

The men’s sentences have been backdated to when they were first imprisoned last February and they will both be eligible for parole in August.

Two young Victorian men who were involved in the attempted importation of an “astronomical” amount of cocaine into South Australia have been labelled “muppets” and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

Rayn Sadik, 20, and Yousif Al-Asadi, 23, were sentenced in South Australia’s District Court on Wednesday after they each entered a guilty plea to one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug last year.

The maximum penalty for that offence is life imprisonment or a fine of $2,347,500.

More at

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-29/victorian-men-sentenced-over-attempt-to-import-100kg-of-cocaine/104870476

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Military-trained narcos arrested in three tonne cocaine bust in south of Spain: Kalashnikov assault rifles among weapons seized

Published

1 month ago

January 18, 2025

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NEARLY three tonnes of cocaine and four military-grade weapons have been seized in a major drug bust along the Guadalquivir River in Sevilla.

Spanish police reported that the men had ‘paramilitary training’ and were armed with what appeared to be Kalashnikov assault rifles.

The presence of such weapons suggests a level of organisation and capacity for violence far beyond typical drug smuggling operations.

Military-trained narcos arrested in three tonne cocaine bust in south of Spain: Kalashnikov assault rifles among weapons seized

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Shipment of grapes entering Canada hid massive stash of suspected cocaine

Published

4 months ago

November 3, 2024

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More than 600 kilograms of suspected cocaine — roughly the weight of a concert grand piano — was discovered inside a shipment of grapes intercepted by border officers earlier this month.

The seizure took place on Oct. 15 at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.

A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency says an investigation is underway with law enforcement partners.

The agency declined an interview and said it doesn’t comment on the status of ongoing investigations.

CBSA hasn’t provided an estimate of the street value of the 615 kilograms, but earlier this year estimated the value of a cocaine seizure less than half this size at $6.5 million.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-cocaine-grapes-1.7368639

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