Tens of billions of dollars worth of cocaine seized in 28 countries as part of operation ‘Tin Can’

Australian Border Force officers have helped prevent an avalanche of cocaine being smuggled in shipping containers across the globe.

Tin Can was described as a hugely successful operation that ‘showcased how law ­enforcement agencies across the world can work together’.

Almost 100 tonnes of cocaine, some of it headed for our streets, has been seized in a global bust of corrupt insiders in the shipping supply chain.

The operation, led by Australian Border Force, the World Customs Organisation and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dubbed ­Operation Tin Can has led to tens of billions of dollars worth of the illicit drug being seized in 28 countries.

The multi-agency sting has led to 43 arrests and more than 100 different drug seizures.

The ABF deployed officers to South America and Europe for the operation, which has prevented a 98,734kg cocaine avalanche being smuggled in shipping containers across the globe. The drugs have a street value in the tens of billions.

Australia, with its huge ­demand and high prices, would have been a key target market.

The cocaine was seized in a global bust of corrupt insiders in the shipping supply chain. Picture: AFP

Operation Tin Can, which ran in November and December last year, has dealt a major blow to feared South American drug cartels.

A total of 58 countries were involved in the operation with support provided by the major shipping lines to weed out criminal infiltration in maritime supply chains.

ABF commander Bjorn Roberts said the cartels were increasingly zeroing-in on Australia’s market.

He said identifying the ­“insiders” in the worldwide supply chain was critical to stop tonnes of cocaine being smuggled into the country.

Australian Border Force Commander Bjorn Roberts (centre) says cartels are zeroing-in on Australia’s market. Picture: Ian Currie

“Operation Tin Can was a hugely successful operation and showcased how law ­enforcement agencies across the world can work together – and work with industry – to combat the threat of organised crime,” he said.

“Almost 100 tonnes of cocaine was detected and it is highly likely some of that would have been destined for Australia had it not been seized.

“This method of drug trafficking is not possible without the involvement of trusted insiders in the maritime supply chain. The threat of the involvement of insiders is a major concern for law enforcement.”

The ABF, German Customs, UK Border Force, US Customs and Border Protection and the Dutch Customs Administration worked to deliver a series of strikes on organised crime.

Australian officers were also deployed to drug supply hot spots Colombia and Panama where they worked with ­Colombian officers to seize a container filled with about 100kg of cocaine.

They found 1kg cocaine blocks individually wrapped and hidden in the container’s structure.

In another bust, Costa Rica police seized 815kg of cocaine from a truck en route to a container terminal. In Ecuador, 25kg of cocaine was found in a container’s refrigeration and ventilation systems.

The ABF say organised crime gangs have been using a “rip-on/rip-off” method to conceal drugs involving the “exploitation of shipping containers”.

Cartels recruited trusted insiders at ports, tampered with legitimate shipments and loaded drugs into those containers.

The key to the smuggling was for a supply chain worker, such as a dock worker or driver, to use their knowledge of the port to locate a specific container and guide in the illicit cargo without detection.

Throughout the operation the agencies gained intelligence on identifying cargo and have adapted new cargo selection criteria using the latest trafficking trends.

Anyone with information about suspicious border ­activity can report it at borderwatch.gov.au

Originally published as Tens of billions of dollars worth of cocaine seized in 28 countries as part of operation ‘Tin Can’