Two Victorian men arrested in Adelaide after seizure of 139kg of cocaine hidden in buses

Two Victorian men – one a teenager – have been arrested and charged in Adelaide after the second-largest coke bust in SA history. Watch the press conference.

Two Victorian men, one a teenager, have been arrested after the seizure of 139kg of cocaine intended for Adelaide’s streets hidden inside a shipment of luxury buses – the second-largest bust in SA history.

Australian Border Force officers say the seizure has stopped a potential 695,000 individual deals from hitting the streets, with a total estimated street value of $45m.

Watch the press conference below:

While this was one of few cases where drugs have been smuggled into the state using buses, ABF Superintendent Andrew Dawson admitted that “criminal syndicates tend to use as many types of concealments as possible”.

“We’re looking at those that drop at sea and also through the rip-on-rip-off methodology whereby criminals will open legitimate cargo, place the drugs inside,” he said. “Once on the wharves they will attempt to take those (drugs) before it (the legitimate cargo) is delivered to the legitimate person.”

On January 28, Australian Border Force officers intercepted a shipping vessel carrying a load of luxury buses at Fremantle Harbour, off the coast of WA, after receiving intelligence relating to a transnational criminal syndicate.

Inside four of the buses, ABF maritime officers discovered a number of suspicious packages.

Subsequent testing returned a positive result for cocaine and the packages were switched by AFP officers for ones containing fake substances.

On February 3, the buses were shipped to Adelaide, their intended destination, and offloaded to a carpark at Mansfield Park, in Adelaide’s northwestern suburbs.

A still from an AFP video shows the men being arrested. Picture: Australian Federal Police

A still from an AFP video shows the men being arrested. Picture: Australian Federal Police

One of the buses where the 139kg cocaine haul was found. Picture: Australian Federal Police

Some of the seized cocaine haul found hidden inside a shipment of luxury buses. Picture: Australian Federal Police

Police allege two men, aged 22 and 19, then forced entry into the carpark and retrieved the substances before travelling to a hotel room in Port Adelaide, where AFP and SA Police officers swooped.

A search warrant was executed and both men were arrested and will appear in Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday.

Detective Superintendent Melinda Adam said the boat had arrived from Singapore, but federal police had not yet determined the origin of the cocaine.

The seizure of the 139kg of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $45m, has prevented a potential 695,000 individual street deals from hitting the streets of South Australia.

“Let’s take a moment to hear that figure again … 695,000 individual street deals that we’ve prevented (causing) significant harm to our communities,” Supt Adam said.

Two men have been arrested in Adelaide following the seizure of 139kg of cocaine hidden inside a shipment of luxury buses. Picture: Australian Federal Police

For the 2023 financial year, Supt Dawson said he had seen a severe market increase in cocaine detections, with over 4.78 tonnes having been seized thus far.

“Unfortunately we are seeing a little bit more,” he said.

“It has been (the largest amount seized on record in a financial year). The average amount of detections at the border in the past decade is around 2.24 tonnes.”

Police are now appealing for any members of the public who have information about suspicious activity in the Port Adelaide or Mansfield Park area in the early hours of Friday February 2 to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

“This is an ongoing investigation, but let me make it clear, the AFP is a formidable and ever-present organisation and is constantly monitoring serious and organised crime and its tentacles that span the globe,” said Supt Adam.