The Australian Federal Police charged the chief officer of a foreign-flagged livestock carrier on November 7 after investigators uncovered a large cocaine smuggling scheme off the coast of Western Australia.
The case began on November 6, when passing boaters spotted floating drums and suspicious packages about 15 nautical miles offshore. Police retrieved the items and found about 525 kilos of cocaine inside – a shipment worth an estimated US$110 million at Australian street prices.
The discovery prompted a full search of a livestock carrier berthed in Fremantle the following day. Officers found a blue drum and pieces of line that allegedly matched the equipment recovered at sea. They also located a section of railings that had been removed and reinstalled, along with a covered CCTV camera – signs of preparation to dump the cocaine overboard before entering port.
The ship’s chief officer, a Croatian national, was detained on board and charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
In a parallel development, police arrested two Sydney men who had been rescued from a sinking pleasure boat on November 3 near Guilderton, 40 nautical miles north of Fremantle. After further investigation, officers concluded the men – together with a third accomplice from Perth – had attempted to retrieve the cocaine from the drop-off point using small craft.
The investigation remains active, and authorities say additional arrests are likely as the smuggling network is uncovered.
