Australian police seize record cocaine haul near Sydney

Australian police have seized 2.7 metric tonnes of cocaine from underground bunkers hidden beneath shipping containers on Sydney’s western outskirts, the country’s largest-ever haul of the drug, officials said Monday.

The cocaine, estimated by police to be worth A$816 million, was found June 19 on a semirural property in Londonderry, New South Wales. Investigators said the drugs were stored in plastic tubs inside concealed compartments beneath false floors in three shipping containers.

Two Sydney men, aged 21 and 25, were arrested at the property after allegedly trying to flee police. They were charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug and were remanded in custody after appearing in court Saturday. If convicted, they face potential life sentences.

Police said the raid was part of Operation Minjiang, an investigation launched in May after 40 kilograms of cocaine was found floating in the water near a boat ramp at Midge Point, a small town in tropical North Queensland. Authorities allege the larger shipment was landed by boat at Midge Point and then transported by road about 1,800 kilometers to Sydney by an organized crime group.

The Queensland Joint Organized Crime Taskforce said the seizure surpassed Australia’s previous record cocaine haul: 2.34 metric tonnes found in 2024 on a fishing boat near K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, off the Queensland coast.

Police also said they suspect the Sydney cocaine shipment came from the same “mother vessel” linked to another seizure in Queensland: 178 kilograms of cocaine and 142 kilograms of methamphetamine. Six people have been charged in connection with that part of the investigation.

NPR reported that investigators suspect the vessel is the MV Wealth, a Belize-flagged cargo ship seized by authorities in Solomon Islands on suspicion of involvement in transnational organized crime. The BBC reported that an alleged mother vessel suspected of being part of the smuggling operation had been detained in Solomon Islands.

Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said the alleged plot showed “how highly organised and determined these criminal networks are, and the extreme lengths they are willing to go to in pursuit of profit.”

“Investigations into the origin of the drugs remain ongoing, and we will work with our international and domestic law enforcement partners to identify the criminal syndicates and anyone else involved in facilitating this alleged attempted drug import,” Jay said.

Jay also said organized crime groups were increasingly targeting Queensland’s 13,000-kilometer coastline to smuggle drugs.

Australia is considered a lucrative market for cocaine traffickers. The BBC, citing an illegal drugs monitoring system run by the University of New South Wales, reported that cocaine typically sells for about A$300 per gram in Australia. The BBC also cited last year’s UN World Drug Report as saying Australians and New Zealanders have the highest cocaine use rates in the world.

The Solomon Islands lie about 2,000 kilometers northeast of Queensland, and police said the investigation remains active across domestic and international jurisdictions.