Five arrests after more than a tonne of cocaine allegedly found on motorboat off NSW coast
More than a tonne of cocaine has been seized off the east coast of Australia and five men arrested after police raided a suspicious motorboat.
Detectives said they were tipped off about the purchase of a 13-metre-long boat with a large sum of cash in Sydney's Sutherland shire on 28 April.
Police said they began investigating and intercepted the vessel on Friday as it was travelling towards South West Rocks on the New South Wales mid-north coast.
Officers allegedly found 1,110 blocks of cocaine together weighing more than a tonne on board.
Police estimated this amount of cocaine was worth $623m on the street.
Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email
Two men, aged 24 and 26, were arrested on board while another three men, aged 28, 29 and 35, were taken into custody on shore after officers stopped two cars allegedly trying to leave the area.
Searches of Newcastle homes led to police seizing electronic devices, documents, clothing and cash.
The two men on board the boat have been charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and participating in a criminal group.
The three men on shore were charged with taking part in supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and participating in a criminal group.
All five faced Parramatta bail court on Saturday where they were formally refused bail to appear at Coffs Harbour local court on 15 July.
'Australia's vast coastline is attractive to organised crime groups, who attempt to exploit this by trying to import drugs using boats,' Australian federal police assistant commissioner Stephen Dametto said in a statement.
'The bad news for them is the AFP will continue to work together with our partners to target organised crime syndicates who wrongly believe they can operate with impunity.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Explosive leaked resignation letter from Greens politician exposes what they really think of the party: 'Toxic'
Dorinda Cox, who sensationally defected from the Greens to Labor last week, has accused her former party of racism and bullying in an explosive, leaked resignation letter. The WA Senator took aim at her her former colleagues, claiming they had failed her as the party's 'last First Nations MP, and (they) continue to fail First Nations people'. 'In my experience, the Greens tolerate a culture that permits violence against First Nations women within its structures,' she wrote. 'In this respect, the party is deeply racist.' The resignation letter, first reported by the ABC, was leaked after Senator Cox defected to the Labor party. Senator Cox had only recently missed out on a leadership role in the Greens following Adam Bandt's humiliating election defeat. The Yamatji-Noongar woman was elected to the upper house in 2021 to fill a Greens vacancy and had been the party's Indigenous affairs spokesperson. Senator Cox was also at the centre of controversy in her party over allegations surrounding her treatment of her staff, with some accusing Cox of being a bully. Senator Lidia Thorpe, who left the Greens to sit as an independent, also revealed last week that she had made a bullying complaint against Senator Cox in 2022. But, in her fiery resignation letter, Senator Cox insisted she had never been a bully and claimed that when she left there were no outstanding 'grievances' against her. 'I have faced an unremitting campaign of bullying and dishonest claims over the last 18 months,' Senator Cox wrote. 'I am not, and have never been, a bully. I do not perpetrate it.' Senator Cox claimed her allegations that she was assaulted by a party member at Perth Airport in 2023 following a disagreement about the Voice to Parliament fell on deaf ears. But Daily Mail Australia understands that details of the complaint went all the way to former leader Adam Bandt's office. She also accused the party of presiding over a 'toxic culture' that saw rumours circulated about her. 'Recently, my children were approached by a former staff member who had publicly made serious allegations about me at a Greens event,' she wrote. 'This type of mobbing made its way into "moderated" online meeting chats and the widely circulated meeting minutes of the (Australian Greens First Nations Network). 'The Greens failed in their duty of care for my staff and me, and disregarded the reported and obvious impact of what was occurring. The focus was solely on winning seats.' Daily Mail Australia approached Greens' leader Larissa Waters for comment. A Greens spokesperson disputed the allegations in Senator Cox's resignation letter, claiming they were 'an anti-racism party, and pushing a senator to take complaints seriously is not bullying'. 'These claims are disappointing, unrepresentative of the support Senator Cox received and ignore the substantive work undertaken by the party to find a resolution to the complaints made both by and against Senator Cox, and to address the breakdown in her relationship with Greens' First Nations members,' the spokesperson added. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of hypocrisy after welcoming Senator Cox into the Labor fold. After Fatima Payman deserted Labor over its stance on Gaza, Albanese called for the WA Senator to quit and hand back her seat.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
LA mayor declares local emergency and issues curfew for downtown area
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has declared a local emergency and issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles 'to stop the vandalism and stop the looting'. The curfew will be in place from 8pm until 6am and will be in an area of one square mile. Bass called on non-residents to avoid the area. Bass will consult with police about the continuation of the curfew but expects it to go for several days
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Australia mushroom trial live: cross-examination of Erin Patterson to continue on day 30 of triple murder trial
Update: Date: 2025-06-11T00:31:09.000Z Title: Welcome to day 30 of Erin Patterson's triple-murder trial Content: Erin Patterson will return to the witness box for a sixth day. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC will continue cross-examining Patterson. The trial, which is in its sixth week, will resume from 10.30am. Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha in regional Victoria on 29 July 2023. She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her estranged husband's aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather's husband, Ian. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests with 'murderous intent', but her lawyers say the poisoning was a tragic accident.
