Cocaine found in hull of ship at Port Melbourne after arrival from Argentina
A remote-controlled robot has discovered a 200kg shipment of cocaine hidden in the hull of a ship that arrived in Port Melbourne from Argentina last month.
Australian Border Force officers used the underwater vehicle to search the ship below the waterline, finding the drugs in the ship’s trunk, where water is pumped in and out of ballast tanks.
Specialist divers from Victoria Police’s Search and Rescue Squad recovered the packages, which were seized by federal police. They have an estimated market value of $80 million.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers have discovered a huge shipment of cocaine, after using a remote-controlled robot to seize the 200-kilogram package of the drug (pictured) which was found hidden in the hull of a ship, Port Melbourne, Victoria.
AFP Commander Richard Chin said illegal packages were regularly hidden in these areas and posed a serious risk to drug traffickers when trying to recover them.
“This method of concealment is not new, and this seizure is another case of law enforcement staying one step ahead of criminals attempting to bring harmful illicit drugs into our country and community “, did he declare.
Earlier this year the body of a police diver who was trying to recover drugs was found, after drugs were found similarly hidden in Newcastle Harbour.
ABF Commander Clinton Sims said organized crime groups routinely used parasitic attachments on the hulls of commercial ships to transport drugs across borders.
The drug (pictured) has an estimated street value of $80 million and is believed to have arrived on Australian shores from Argentina in August.
Once the drugs were seized, the ship and crew continued from Victoria to Western Australia and then back to South Australia.
“In response, the ABF is using remotely operated submersible vehicles to enhance our ability to conduct mass screening of transport vessel hulls and void spaces to detect concealments of illegal drugs below the waterline,” he said. he declares.
Once the drugs were seized, the ship and crew continued from Victoria to Western Australia and then to South Australia.
Police are urging anyone with information about drugs or who has noticed suspicious activity at ports in any of the three states to come forward.
“It could be anything from an unusual purchase of a boat paid for in cash to suspicious activity at one of our ports,” Cmdr Chin said.
