Two Sydney men arrested as AFP bust group allegedly running Colombian cocaine lab

Nine people have been arrested after police smashed an alleged Colombian drug operation, with police claiming to have discovered a 600 sq m drug lab in South-East Queensland, operated under the guidance of a ‘chemist’ flown in from overseas.

Australian Federal Police have smashed a Colombian drug ring which had built a custom made “cocaine factory’’ capable of processing hundreds of kilos of the drug from importations disguised as liquid products.

A Colombian national, referred to by police as a “chemist’’ was allegedly flown in from Spain to oversee and teach other members of the syndicate here in Australia on how to extract cocaine after it was imported.

The arrest of a 38-year-old Sydney man allegedly caught with 10kgs of cocaine in two fridges loaded on the back of a Volkswagen Amarok ute triggered arrests around the country in three states.

Police will allege the syndicate had purchased land at Durong, a remote southeast Queensland community near Kingaroy, and spent tens of of thousands of dollars to build a 600 square metre drug lab.

Just after 7pm the vehicle was surrounded by police when pulled over at a service station at Heatherbrae north of Newcastle at the same time as police arrested another eight people around the country.

Images from Operation Merredin of the drug seizure. Source: Supplied

“The (alleged) global syndicate identified in this operation was ruthless and well-resourced, building a custom-made laboratory to extract and produce cocaine for distribution to multiple organised crime groups in Australia, AFP Assistant Commissioner Eastern Command Kirsty Schofield.

She said the complex investigation involved syndicate members all over the country and also multiple international law enforcement agencies assisted with the operation.

A vehicle stop near Heatherbrae saw 10kg of cocaine found hidden. Source: Supplied

“This result is a testament to the AFP’s advanced capabilities, and the innovative investigative strategies our detectives used to disrupt this organised crime syndicate. This investigation has stopped a production line of cocaine from hitting Australian streets, and prevented millions of dollars of drug profit flowing back into the syndicate to fund their next criminal venture.”

The AFP said police would allege the amount of money spent to build the lab indicated the cartel were confident they were going to be able to process cocaine importations for a long time in the future, but in fact have been dismantled before they could get there operation in full swing.

In all nine people have been arrested in Queensland, the Northern Territory and NSW.

The second Sydney man arrested was with the chemists in Queensland at the cocaine lab. The 38 year old was originally from Columbia but is now an Australian resident.

Originally published as Two Sydney men arrested as AFP bust group allegedly running Colombian cocaine lab