Norwegian diving duo jailed over foiled 80kg cocaine smuggling plot
On January 23 2023, NSW Police received a tip that a bulk carrier ship from Brazil – which was destined to arrive at the Port of Newcastle – was carrying illicit drugs.
The same day, a passer-by witnessed two men with diving equipment and seabobs at Swansea, and reported to Crime Stoppers.
They said the seabobs had a black tow harness with shackles and weights on either side.
NSW Police, the AFP and Australian Border Force (ABF) visited the bulk carrier the following day, with divers retrieving six waterproof duffel bags hidden inside a section of the hull.
Inside, they found 82 packages of cocaine, weighing about 80 kgs and with a street value of $26m.
On January 25, witnesses on a ferry saw two men in the water at the harbour and notified police.
Later that day. officers arrested the two men – aged 53 and 35 and Norwegian nationals – and returned them to shore.
There, they found a black climbing belt, diving googles with torches, a black flipper, diving bag, bolt cutters, diving gloves, pliers and a pocket knife.
Police also seized diving equipment, electronic devices, receipts and passports from their car.
The men were found to have separately flown in to Brisbane from Bali on January 17 and 18, a few days before the bulk carrier arrived in Newcastle.
The men drove from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, where they purchased two seabobs worth $56,000, before purchasing a scuba set in Nelson Bay in NSW and tools from a hardware shop in Newcastle.
The two men were each charged with one count of attempting to possess a large commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.
Both men pleaded guilty.
On March 13, 2025, the 35-year-old Norwegian man was sentenced to 10 years and two months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of five years and nine months.
Last week on August 13 2025, the 53-year-old Norwegian man was sentenced to nine years and 11 months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and 11 months.
AFP Detective Superintendent Peter Fogarty said alleged offenders often mistake Australia as a 'lucrative market to sell illicit drugs' and would 'go to great lengths, even risking their own safety, to make a quick buck'.
'Divers hired by criminal syndicates are a cog in the wheel of organised crime, and they will be pursued and apprehended, no matter where they sit in a syndicate's hierarchy,' he said.
'This result is testament to our ongoing collaboration with our partners, both then and now.
'Criminals are relentless at targeting our community for illicit ventures, which is why our close working relationships with partners such as NSW Police Force and ABF are so important,' he said.
ABF Superintendent Geoff Quinn said the 'outcome serves as a warning to criminals that we're acutely aware of what you're up to'.
'The ABF's work with partner agencies helps identify, target and disrupt the nefarious activities of serious organised crime groups irrespective of how clever they think they are,' he said.
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