Australian authorities intercept over a ton of cocaine worth $400M
New South Wales (NSW) Police Force investigators obtained intelligence about a suspicious purchase of a boat with a large sum of cash in late April and began following the movements of the vessel and people involved, the NSW and Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a joint news release.
Both the NSW and AFP monitored their activities as they traveled north via Nelson Bay and Port Macquarie, according to the agencies.
When the vessel came back to shore on Friday, marine authorities launched an interception.
5 Fishermen Rescued At Sea After 55 Days Adrift In Pacific Ocean
Authorities discovered approximately 1,110 blocks of cocaine, weighing 1.039 tons, aboard the vessel. The cocaine had an estimated potential street value of nearly $400 million, according to authorities.
Read On The Fox News App
Two men, aged 24 and 26, were arrested on board the vessel. Three men – aged 28, 29 and 35 – were arrested on shore after investigators stopped two vehicles attempting to leave the area.
"Australia's vast coastline is attractive to organized crime groups, who attempt to exploit this by trying to import drugs using boats," AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dametto said. "The bad news for them is the AFP will continue to work together with our partners to target organized crime syndicates who wrongly believe they can operate with impunity."
Bondi Announces One Of Largest Fentanyl Seizures In Us History
The two men arrested on the boat were charged with supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity, while the three men arrested on shore were charged with taking part in supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity. All five face charges of participating in a criminal group.
All five men appeared in court and were denied bail.
Investigators are working to learn more about the origin of the drugs and the group's alleged associates.Original article source: Australian authorities intercept over a ton of cocaine worth $400M
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
22 minutes ago
- New York Post
6 severed heads found by side of the road along with chilling message in one of Mexico's safest regions
Six severed heads have been found by the side of the road in Mexico alongside a chilling message in an area where such brutal violence is rare, Mexican prosecutors said. The male remains were discovered by a road linking the central Mexican states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Alongside the heads was a pamphlet blaming the savage killings on the settling of scores between rival gangs, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. 'The State Attorney General's Office (FGJE) has initiated an investigation into the discovery of six male head limbs near the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala,' the office said as they announced an inquiry into the murders. Advertisement 6 severed heads have been found by the side of a road in Mexico. AFP via Getty Images 'The State Attorney General's Office will continue the relevant investigations to clarify what happened and hold accountable whoever is found responsible,' the statement concluded. Both Puebla and Tlaxcala are usually considered among the safest states in Mexico to visit, the US State Department designating them a Level 2 travel advisory, the second-lowest warning. Advertisement Tlaxcala accounts for just 0.5% of the 14,769 intentional homicides recorded in Mexico this year so far, while Puebla accounts for 3.4%, according to official figures. They were found in Tlaxcala in central Mexico. Romeo – However, the State Department notes that both states face issues with criminal gangs who move drugs, fuel and humans through central Mexico. Extreme violence — including decapitation — is usually concentrated around northern and western states along the Pacific coast. Advertisement In June, 20 bodies, five of them headless, were discovered under a bridge along a road in northwest Sinaloa. However, there have been more gruesome crimes in southern Mexico in recent months. In March, the dismembered bodies of nine missing students were found by the side of a highway on the border of Puebla and Oaxaca. A bag of hands belonging to the students was discovered nearby.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
National Guard vehicle collides with civilian car, traps one person near US Capitol
WASHINGTON — A National Guard vehicle collided with a civilian car less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol on Thursday morning as troops continued to take up positions around the city during President Donald Trump's crackdown. One person was trapped inside the car after the accident and had to be extricated by emergency responders, according to D.C. fire department spokesman Vito Maggiolo. The person was transported to a hospital with minor injuries. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. A video posted online showed a tan-colored armored vehicle and a silver SUV with a crushed side. The military vehicle was twice the height of the civilian car. A National Guard vehicle collided with a civilian car near the US Capitol Thursday morning, trapping one person inside. AFP via Getty Images 'You come to our city and this is what you do? Seriously?' a woman yelled at the troops in the video. The driver was conscious and breathing, and the injuries were not considered life threatening, police said. The military vehicle was twice the height of the civilian car and the person trapped inside was later transported to a hospital with minor injuries. Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock An estimated 1,900 troops are being deployed in D.C. More than half are coming from Republican-led states that are responding to requests from Trump administration officials. Attorney General Pam Bondi said more than 550 people have been arrested so far, and the U.S. Marshals are offering $500 rewards for information leading to additional arrests. 'Together, we will make DC safe again!' Bondi wrote on social media.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
NZ soldier sentenced to two years' detention for attempted espionage
A military court sentenced a New Zealand soldier on Wednesday to two years' detention for attempting to spy for a foreign power. The soldier, whose name has been suppressed, admitted to attempted espionage, accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and knowingly possessing an objectionable publication. He was ordered into military detention at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch and will be dismissed from the New Zealand Defence Force at the end of his sentence. His admission and its acceptance by the court marked the first spying conviction in New Zealand's history. The soldier will be paid at half his previous rate until his dismissal at the end of his sentence, the defence force told AFP. According to information provided to the court, he previously earned NZ$2,000 (US$1,600) a fortnight. The court martial at Linton Military Camp near Palmerston North heard the soldier gave military base maps and photographs to an undercover officer posing as an agent for a foreign nation. During the investigation, he was also found to have copies of a livestreamed video of the March 2019 killing of 51 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch by white supremacist Brenton Tarrant. - 'Harm to the world' - The soldier became a person of interest after the Christchurch attack because he was a member of some right-wing groups that police were cracking down on, the court heard. While monitoring him, the New Zealand government became aware he had "made contact with a third party, indicating that he was a soldier who was wanting to defect", according to an agreed summary of the facts read out by the prosecution. The military court has permanently suppressed the identity of the foreign nation. Chief Judge Kevin Riordan said the soldier "intended to prejudice the security and defence of New Zealand". A military panel agreed the worst of his offences was the sharing of passwords, an identity card, and access codes to Linton Military Camp and the air force's Base Ohakea, the judge said. "You were actively searching for things to supply to someone you thought was a foreign agent," Riordan said. Of the man's video of the Christchurch killings, the judge said: "Keeping the message of a gross murderer is a harm to the world in itself." The court martial was held in a large, cold hall at Linton, with banners carrying New Zealand Army slogans of "courage", "commitment", "comradeship" and "integrity". "You have comprehensively breached all of these values," Riordan told the soldier. The chief judge expressed concern over how the sentence would be perceived given that military detention is widely considered to be easier than civilian prison. - 'No remorse' - The military panel determined a starting point of between 3.5 and 4 years prison and gave deductions for the man's guilty plea and time spent under open arrest. "We spent more time over this decision than any other," Riordan said. The panel decided military detention was appropriate given the rehabilitation it would provide. Crown lawyer Grant Burston had earlier told the court the soldier's sentence should start at between 4.5 and 5 years in prison. "There is no apology," Burston said, referencing the soldier's affidavit, which was read to the court. "There is just expressed regret and a well-established expression of grievance. "There is no remorse for betraying... his country." Defence lawyer Stephen Winter said that although the offences were serious, they were "at the bottom end of offending for this particular charge". "He has grown out of that phase of his life. He is now a husband... a father," he said. The soldier was arrested in December 2019 and had spent all but six days since then under what the New Zealand Defence Force called open arrest. He was required to live on an army base in a military house and was subject to a curfew. The soldier had been suspended on full pay, earning nearly US$204,000 (NZ$350,000) since his arrest. During that time, he married and had two children. His wife is expecting a third child. The New Zealand Defence Force declined to say whether his family would be provided housing during his detention. bes/sft/djw/cwl Solve the daily Crossword
