Australian police have seized 2.7 tons of cocaine from a system of underground bunkers in western Sydney, described as the largest seizure of its kind in the country.
The drugs, with an estimated street value of 816 million Australian dollars (433 million pounds, 500 million euros), were found on Friday in hidden compartments beneath false floors in three shipping containers on a property in Londonderry.
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Two men aged 21 and 25, who are suspected of trying to flee from police, were arrested at the scene and charged with possession of a commercial quantity of a drug illegally imported across the border.
Police said the cocaine was smuggled into Australia through the small town of Midge Point in North Queensland on the orders of an organized crime group. The suspects, who were remanded in custody after appearing in court on Saturday, face life imprisonment if convicted.
Police said the raid on the Londonderry property was part of Operation Minjiang, which was launched in May after 40 kg of cocaine was found floating in the water near a boat ramp in Midge Point.
Six other people in Queensland and New South Wales were arrested and charged as part of the investigation launched after that discovery, police said last week.
A vessel suspected of being part of the smuggling operation has also been detained in the Solomon Islands. Despite its remoteness, Australia is a lucrative market for the drug trade, with cocaine typically selling for about 300 Australian dollars per gram, according to an illicit drug monitoring system run by the University of New South Wales.
Australians and New Zealanders also have the highest levels of cocaine use in the world, according to last year’s UN World Drug Report.
“The alleged plot shows just how organized and determined these criminal networks are and how far they are willing to go in pursuit of profit.
The investigation into the origin of the drugs is ongoing, and we will work with our international and domestic law enforcement partners to identify the criminal syndicates and anyone else involved in facilitating this alleged drug importation attempt,” said Stephen Jay, Commander of the Australian Federal Police.
