Druggies prefer yachting

It would seem that the latest way to smuggle drugs into Australia is by boat. On Friday (Aug 23) a yacht bound for Australia was found to be smuggling 750kg of cocaine worth an estimated $370 million.

Since 2010, five yachts have been busted in the South Pacific with over two tonnes of drugs aboard.

In October 2010, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Customs collected 464kg of cocaine from a luxury yacht moored at Scarborough, a sleepy marina north of Brisbane. A German mechanic and a Costa Rican diving instructor were alleged to have sailed a catamaran full of coke from South America and transferred it mid-ocean to a 12m yacht

The,n in November 2011, Australian law enforcement agencies dealt a significant blow to an international organised crime syndicate, arresting four Spanish nationals and seizing 300kg of cocaine from a yacht in Bundaberg, Queensland.

Authorities also seized more than $3 million in cash during related search warrants carried out in Bundaberg, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

The investigation involved collaboration between the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Queensland Police Service and assistance from authorities in Vanuatu.

At the time, it was believed to be the fifth largest cocaine seizure in Australian history, with the confiscated drugs carrying an estimated value of up to $78 million.

Since 2010, the AFP, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) and United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have collaborated with South Pacific nations to investigate organised crime syndicates using yachts and similar vessels travelling through the region with cocaine shipments bound for Australia.

Project Cringle was established as a long-term AFP, ACBPS and DEA project targeting criminal organisations using the South Pacific as a transit point and staging area for their activities.

In the latest bust, the AFP, ACBPS and the DEA commenced Operation Basco in July this year as a result of intelligence gathered in Project Cringle. This joint investigation targeted a yacht called Raj docked in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

The assistance of the Vanuatu Police Force was sought to seize and search the Raj. Concealment experts from ACBPS and agents from the AFP and DEA travelled to Vanuatu on August 19 to assist in the extensive examination.

Officers discovered an estimated 750 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the lower engine compartments and around the keel area of the hull.

It is estimated this consignment would be worth approximately $370 million, and has prevented in excess of 750,000 individual deals from reaching Australian streets.