Three men charged over $1.5 million cannabis, cocaine and cash haul found in Port Adelaide warehouse
A truckie was plotting to use his essential worker status to drive drugs worth millions across the country before the huge haul was found near Port Adelaide police station, it will be alleged.
Police & Courts
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More than 160kg of cannabis and cocaine worth $1.5m has been seized by detectives investigating a major drug syndicate operating out of Port Adelaide.
Police allege an interstate truckie was going to use his essential worker status to traffic the drug cache across the country.
Steven Raymond, Robert Marciano and Joseph Cogno were arrested on Tuesday over their links to the raid at a Lipson Street property – 500m from Port Adelaide police station.
Cogno, 52, of Mount Compass, was arrested at the scene. A search found a shoebox filled with prescriptions, $20,000 and a 500g vacuumed sealed bag of a white powder suspected to be cocaine.
Another raid followed at an Urrbrae address where Marciano, 43, was arrested.
Police allegedly seized a number of documents at the address.
Detectives then searched Raymond’s Evanston Park home where they arrested the 37-year-old and recovered $25,000.
All three men were charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug, trafficking in a commercial quantity and money laundering. AFP Superintendent Gail McClure said an interstate truck driver was planning to transport the drugs around the country.
“Criminals should not think they can exploit this global crisis,” she said.
At the Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, Cogno did not apply for bail.
Marciano was released on supervised bail and a home detention report was ordered for Raymond.
