Man faces court after 200kg boat-based drug bust
Boat raided as NSW and federal police investigate international drug-running syndicateNSW Police are expected to lay charges today against a 27-year-old Adelaide man after a 7.5-metre trailer boat was caught off the state’s coastline with about 200 kilograms of cocaine allegedly aboard.
The seizure of both the boat and its cargo comes after Australian Federal Police were tipped off that a cargo ship, the MSC Joanna, was headed to Sydney and may have a large shipment of drugs on board.
Police will allege that the Elizabeth Parks man is linked to a transnational criminal syndicate.
“Aerial surveillance observed the Elizabeth Parks man launching a small vessel from Taren Point and meeting the MSC Joanna off the coast of Sydney before sunrise yesterday (March 11, 2021),” a statement from the AFP said.
It said 11 green-lidded crates containing 199 blocks of cocaine with a street value of around $90 million were then allegedly offloaded from the cargo vessel at sea and transported to the smaller vessel, which then made its way back to shore before being intercepted on the water by NSW Police.
Images released by the AFP show a brand new-looking Surtees 750 Game Fisher alloy boat being examined by forensic investigators.
Police also boarded the mother ship in Sydney, seizing about $500,000 in cash as part of the investigation.
Police said this was the third time since the COVID-19 pandemic’s outbreak that it has intercepted “motherships” alleged to be transporting large loads of illicit drugs by transferring them to smaller “daughter” ships for transport to land.
Boats seized by police are usually auctioned off once a criminal is convicted.
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
