Three men arrested over alleged conspiracy to import 1500kg of cocaine off NSW coast
NSW organised crime squad detectives will allege three would-be cocaine collectors stood to earn $3.4 million between them for their roles in conspiring to grab 1½ tonnes of the drug off the coast using a fishing boat bought with cash.
NSW
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NSW organised crime squad detectives have sensationally arrested three men who they allege were acting as “catching crew members” in a conspiracy to import 1500kg of cocaine off the NSW coastline.
Police will also allege the trio stood to earn $3.4 million between them for collecting the drugs dropped at sea using a fishing boat, which had been bought using cash and has also now been seized from a quiet Port Stephens bay.
The arrests – two in the Hunter and one on the mid-north coast – were made on Thursday morning after Strike Force Blaine was established to investigate the alleged distribution of large commercial quantities of prohibited drugs by organised crime networks along the state’s east coast.
“Through inquiries, detectives identified three men in the Hunter Region behaving suspiciously, including using cash in the purchase of two marine vessels,” police said in a statement.
“The actions of the men were consistent with the methodology used by ‘catching crews’, tasked with collecting significant quantities of prohibited drugs dropped at sea.”
The strike force, which had been led by organised crime squad detectives and assisted by water police and the NSW Crime Commission, had already charged two of the men with firearm offences after a pre-dawn “boat inspection” of the fishing vessel Seas The Day in Shoal Bay in February.
The men were both on bail when they were arrested again on Thursday.
A 23-year-old man was taken into custody at a worksite at Forster worksite about 8.20am before he was taken to the local police station and charged with conspiracy to supply a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and participating in a criminal group.
A 24-year-old man was arrested about 11.20am at Salamander Bay and taken to Raymond Terrace police station before being charged with the same two offences.
Earlier on Thursday, Operation Utah police assisted in the arrest of a 34-year-old man during a pre-dawn vehicle stop in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Eleebana.
He was handcuffed and told to sit on the ground as members of the dog squad searched his car.
The Lake Macquarie man was taken to Belmont police station and charged with the same offences as the other two men, as well as one count of “recruit other to assist in carrying out criminal activity”.
All three men were refused police bail to face Parramatta Local Court on Friday.
“Police will allege in court the three men stood to earn $3.4 million between them for their role in the alleged collection of the 1.5 tonne of cocaine.,” police said in a statement.
Water police also seized the fishing boat Seas The Day from its mooring at Lemon Tree Passage in Port Stephens before it was taken to nearby Nelson Bay for forensic examination.
Strike Force Blaine investigations continue.
Originally published as Three men arrested over alleged conspiracy to import 1500kg of cocaine off NSW coast
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