Cruising sailors caught with biggest drug haul ever

Six men, aged between 32 and 66, have been charged with serious drug importation offences as a result of  recent joint Australian, New Zealand, Fijian and French Polynesian investigation into drug smuggling among a sailing crew.

The seizure of 1.4 tonnes of cocaine, a lot of extra ballast by any measure, has been valued at $312 million and is the biggest interception of this drug in Australia’s history, authorities say.

Police will allege a sailing vessel, the Elakha, travelled from New Zealand to a ‘mothership’ in the South Pacific Ocean in January 2016 to collect the drugs.

Shortly before midnight on Thursday, February 2, 2017, the HMAS Bathurst intercepted the Elakha.

Maritime Border Command (MBC) personnel boarded the vessel, and the two crew members – a 63-year-old New Zealand man and a 54-year-old dual Swiss/Fijian national – were detained under the Maritime Powers Act 2013.

Black bags containing a large quantity of blocks were discovered on the vessel. Initial testing of the blocks returned a positive result for cocaine with an estimated weight of approximately 1422 kilograms (1.4 tonnes).

This amount of cocaine has a street value of approximately $312 million, though further forensic testing will be conducted to determine exact weight and purity.

NSW SOUTH COAST CONNECTIONS
On Friday, February 3, 2017, two Sydney men – aged 63 and 62 – travelled to the NSW South Coast, where they met a 66-year-old man. Police will allege the three men intended to launch a motor vessel to meet the Elakha at sea before returning to shore with the drugs.

The AFP arrested and charged the three men with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug. They appeared in Nowra Local Court on Saturday, 4 February 2017, and were refused bail. They will reappear in the Central Local Court on Wednesday, 8 February 2017.

On Friday, February 3, 2017, police arrested a fourth man in Sydney who is also alleged to be involved in the conspiracy to import the cocaine.

HISTORY OF BOATING DRUG BUSTS
Deputy Commissioner Operations Michael Outram said Australian Border Force officers worked tirelessly with our law enforcement partners over the course of the investigation culminating in one of the biggest drug seizure in recent times.

"We hope that this operation sends a strong message to anyone thinking of smuggling drugs: no matter how innovative or complex their ways are, our evolving detection methods and resources, including at sea, will keep up with them," Deputy Commissioner Outram said.

There was a huge commercial fishing drug syndicate caught in Sydney in December 2016.

There has been a string of boating-related drug busts over the years, including this recent story we ran titled: This old runabout at Palm Beach had $54m of drugs aboard.

As time goes by, you can see the police and border agencies getting a lot smarter and more adept at detecting drug boats and mounting multi-agency international ops. Great work.

You can read our previous reports about previous yachting drug busts in Queensland here.