Overview
- After a 10‑month joint operation by Victoria Police, the AFP, Border Force and the ACIC, officers arrested eight men in Victoria and one in Sydney and laid a range of serious charges.
- Investigators allege the syndicate tried to bring in shipments of up to 3.5 tonnes of cocaine via Bass Strait using smaller boats to meet a larger “mother ship,” though no drugs made it to shore.
- The inquiry began when a commercial trawler sank off Port Albert in May 2025, prompting surveillance of the rescued crew and other local vessels suspected of planning at‑sea pickups.
- Four accused also face charges tied to separate August 2025 seizures of 30 kilograms of methamphetamine in Perth and 41 kilograms of cocaine in regional Victoria, which police link to planned sea drop‑zones and trucking routes for interstate distribution.
- The men, aged 31 to 72, are charged with offenses including conspiracy to import cocaine, meth trafficking and firearms offenses, with seven facing possible life sentences as the probe continues toward court dates on May 20 in NSW and July 28 in Victoria.