Woman, 82, arrested in Flinders Park drug bust

One of the state’s oldest accused drug traffickers has been arrested after police raided her home Wednesday, accusing her of being part of a syndicate.

One of South Australia’s oldest accused drug traffickers has been arrested during a multimillion-dollar cocaine bust in her Adelaide home.

Detectives arrested the 82-year-old woman, who is believed to be a grandmother, at her Flinders Park home in the western suburbs, on Wednesday.

Police will allege she was part of the a drug syndicate who were attempting to import at least 8kg of cocaine worth more than $3.2 million.

A man, 30, who is understood to be related to the elderly woman, was also arrested at the house.

The pair, who have not been identified but are from the same Flinders Park address, were charged with attempting to traffick in a large commercial quantity of cocaine.

In SA, the maximum penalty if found guilty of trafficking in a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug, such as cocaine, is life imprisonment, a $1m fine or both.

They were granted bail to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, in April. Detectives do not anticipate any further arrests at this stage.

The officer in charge of the Serious and Organised Crime Branch, Detective Superintendent Billy Thompson, said it was part of an importion ring that had the potential to wreck havoc on the local community.

“This is another example of the unwavering determination of (our) detectives to stop the flow of dangerous illicit drugs into South Australia,” Mr Thompson said.

“This amount of cocaine, with a street value of about $3.2 million, could have caused enormous harm to our community.”

Police believe the woman is one of the oldest to be arrested on an alleged drug trafficking charge.

The street value of cocaine, which is most commonly dealt in powdered form in Australia, is usually measured as a ‘cap’ or in grams.

According to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the price for one gram of cocaine is between $300 and $600, while 1kg is between $150,000 and $330,000.

In March last year, Yorke Peninsula was home to SA’s largest cocaine bust when Operation Lithgow – a joint effort involving both SA detectives and Australian Federal Police – intercepted a 431kg haul headed for our shores.

The cocaine cache was so large – with a street value of more than $250m – it was the equivalent of just under half the total amount of cocaine seized in Australia in 2021.

Police have urged anyone with information on the “manufacture, sale or supply” of illicit drugs to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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