$370m worth of cocaine found on yacht bound for Australia

[at0m]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-23/massive-drug-haul/4907052

Authorities have intercepted $370 million worth of cocaine on a yacht in Vanuatu that was destined for Australia.

 

The drugs were seized in Port Vila as part of a joint operation by Australian Federal Police, Customs, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and South Pacific authorities.

No arrests have been made over the 750 kilogram haul - the work of a global drug syndicate operating across Australia, the US, South America and the Pacific.

It is one of the largest drug busts Australian authorities have been involved in.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Ramzi Jabbour says the same syndicate was behind a similar seizure of cocaine in 2011.

"Due to ongoing court processes I am limited in what I am able to say in relation to that matter," he said.

"Whilst there have been no arrests at this stage of the investigation it is an ongoing matter as I stated earlier."

Cocaine hidden behind concrete and rocks

Concealment experts from the Customs were needed to uncover the drugs stash that was hidden in compartments sealed with rocks and concrete.

Customs spokeswoman Karen Harfield says it was "highly sophisticated".

"The drugs were hidden in the lower engine compartments of the vessel and around the keel area," she said.

"Officers from all of the agencies spent some number of hours chiselling through the concrete and ultimately the rocks to reach the concealed drugs."

Authorities say the yacht was up for sale when the bust was made.

If it made it to Australian shores, the cocaine could have been used in more than 750,000 deals on Australian streets.

"We are well aware that international criminals see Australia as a lucrative market for their drugs, but we will continue to work closely with our partners to identify syndicates such as these, and ensure their shipments never make it to the streets of Australia," Assistant Commissioner Jabbour said.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration's David Cali says the joint operation sends a strong message to organised crime groups seeking to operate in the South Pacific.

"This seizure is another fine example of the successes achieved when international law enforcement collaborates to rid our societies of the evils of drugs," he said.

Since 2010, Australian, American and Pacific authorities have been working together under Project Cringle to target drug syndicates operating in the region.

Ten people have been arrested in relation to the operation and almost two tonnes of cocaine destined for Australia has been seized.

In November last year a yacht carrying a dead body and 204 one-kilo blocks of cocaine ran aground in Tonga last year.

[nothinghead]

Numbers seem a bit crazy, no? 750 kilos, sold, as they assert in 750,000 deals (or "more than", but let's leave it at that since realistically does anyone sell a point of coke? I'd guess that an "or less" would be a far more accurate estimation). That means each gram is almost 500 bucks a pop. The only nice thing about those prices is that if they're anywhere close to being right it gets easy to guess what kind of people are doing the majority of buying; hint: it's not the one with dreads working at coles or any other stereotypified 'druggo' they like to portray in the media.

Also enjoy how they say it was a joint effort between AFP, customs, USDEA, and some Pacific blokes..... look to the photo and who is doing the leg work without the glory?

But most of all the "highly sophisticated" rocks n concrete lol.

e: forgot about cutting. fair enough i guess.

Edited August 23, 2013 by raketemensch

[bullit]

god damn it now coke will b 8 hungy a gram fuk

[Sallubrious]

So why would they intercept it like that and then just announce that they've got it ?

Wouldn't it make more sense to substitute it for something else and deliver it as planned to get some real evidence.

They went to all that trouble to involve at least 3 different countries in the tracking and seizure of the coke, but then they intercept before it arrived. It seems like they were trying to protect someone in Oz.

Is it even a customs issue for Australia if it's seized in Vanuatu ?

Now all they have to do is build a case on speculation that it was really bound for Australia. They could have "intelligence" but it could be argued that the whole bound for Australia story was a ruse and the coke was going to Timbuktu or some other place outside Australian territory leaving the Feds in no-mans land.

At least there will be plenty of coke on the streets for Christmas.

Edited August 23, 2013 by SallyD

[Leaves]

Over-rated that Coke stuff anyway, has anyone else tried the Delisse Coca Tea bags? Come in a 100 pack for around $12 last time I got them. They are sold legally in Australia and lots of those Eastern European shops sell them. Anyone tried emptying the contents of the bags and chewing then adding a bit of bi-carb to the mouth?

[Bert&Ernie]

I wonder what they are going to do with all that coke now..... surly they wont destroy it or keep it all as evidence.

[incognito]

Decocanised tea bags right? May as well chew on some wheat!

[Leaves]

They still have plenty of cocaine in them as they completely numb my mouth & jaw Easier than chewing Khat, less is needed than that Khat chewing What I was trying to say is the effects per amount used are stronger than Khat.

Edited August 25, 2013 by Leaves

[incognito]

Sorry leaves I

Didn't mean any offence I only heard they where decocanised I tried some a long time ago, didn't have much of an effect but that's me and that was then and this is now- your views are more than valid and much valued. I don't know shite from clay except for taste

[AndyAmine.]

[Leaves]

No offence taken Incognito I also found I didn't get any effects from those tea bags when I made a tea out of them but when just chewing a heap of them once you have plenty of saliva going on if you put a bit of bi-carb in your mouth the numbing effects are felt straight away. Stimulation effects are stronger than the red Khat, I haven't had the chance to get near the narrow leafed one yet.

edit:actually the packet the tea bags come in doesn't mention anything about it de-cocained (It does say they are good for altitude sickness/weightloss etc) so I am not sure now if the state de-coke tea would work or not.

Apparently one can order up to 2kg of powdered coca leaf at a time into Australia as mentioned on a online store that sells it.

Can anyone confirm this is legal to import into Australia? I am guessing it is because retail shops sell it & the leaves are approved for export by the Peruvian government.

So if anyone ever asks, you can pull out your copy of Formato #1 which states that no narcotic or hallucinogenic material is present in the shipment (for which the merchant takes responsibility). Or just show them the UPC barcode on the back of the Delisse packaging.

Maybe it's something like how in Australia the poppy seeds end up coated in opium because the seeds are soaking in the liquid used during extraction, maybe the coca leaves end up with residue from the cocaine extraction which then dries.

Edited August 25, 2013 by Leaves

[Distracted]

Decocanised tea bags right? May as well chew on some wheat!

Not that I want to bring attention to something that's pretty easily available... but i'd look into it a bit more.

[irabionist]

yeah when I was overseas i tried some of the tea bags with bi carb, very numb jaw!

Edited September 24, 2013 by Sabry

[Glynn]

Leaves, imagine you are a politician/journalist/leo... reread your posts...

what is the original post about?
In my opinion this is going 'dangerously' off topic...