A group of alleged smugglers has been arrested trying to bring 1.4 tonnes of cocaine into Australia on a yacht after picking it up from a so-called “mother ship” in international waters, authorities say.
Six men aged between 32 and 66 face the prospect of life imprisonment if convicted over what police say is the biggest cocaine seizure in Australia. The drug could have netted $312m once sold.
New Zealand authorities first tipped off their Australian counterparts about the 12-metre yacht Elakha in August 2014, after gathering intelligence about its owner and crew.
The boat, allegedly crewed by New Zealander Hamish Thompson, 63, and Swiss-Fijian Valentino Fries, 54, made its way to a cocaine “mother ship” waiting in the south Pacific Ocean on Thursday night, police say. Just after midnight the yacht was intercepted by the HMS Bathurst, 370km east of Sydney.
The Australian federal police acting deputy commissioner, Neil Gaughan, said the bust revealed the cross-border nature of alleged drug syndicates.
“They’re interested in bringing misery to the Australian community and all they really care about is lining their own pockets,” he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
Thompson and Fries each face a charge of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
They appeared in Sydney’s central local court on Monday, where their matters were adjourned until Wednesday.
Three other members of the alleged syndicate – 66-year-old David Wren, 63-year-old Kevin Michael Geraghty and 62-year-old Glen James Willcox – appeared in Nowra local court on Friday.
Yahay Magdalawi, 32, appeared in Parramatta local court on Saturday.
The four – who were arrested in Sydney and on the south coast – are charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
It’s alleged they had organised to bring the stash ashore. All four were due to reappear in central local court on Wednesday. None of the six men was granted bail.
Gaughan dismissed as “a misnomer” the notion that Australian authorities were restricted in how they could pursue offenders in international waters.
“The courts will ultimately make a decision whether or not our actions were lawful,” he said. “But we are of the very strong belief that we were acting within the law and acting in accordance with the legislation as it currently sits in Australia.”
Police also say they seized large amounts of cash, jewellery and electronic items during the New South Wales raids.
The federal justice minister, Michael Keenan, predicted the “ground-breaking” police operation would drive up the price of cocaine in Australia.
“Clearly this is an enormous blow to supply of illicit drugs in Australia, particularly cocaine,” Keenan said.
Gaughan said the mother ship was “currently subject to investigation”.
