How AFP and Border Force busted international cocaine ring

A man has been jailed for 14 years after his plan to bring a whopping 500kg of cocaine into Australia was undone by police.

A man has been jailed for 14 years after his plan to bring a whopping 500kg of cocaine into Australia was undone by police.

Zhen Tao Qi, 43, had hoped the double-masted yacht named Vieux Malin would fit in with dozens of others floating along the coast of Honiara, the Solomon Islands’ capital, and not attract the attention of authorities. But he was wrong.

A joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and authorities from the US and Solomon Islands had long had the ship under surveillance from the time it left South America in 2018.

Zhen Tao Qi, 43, has been sentenced to 14 years and five months jail. Picture: AFP

The arrest in Wahroonga on September 27 2018. Picture: AFP

On September 27, 2018, as authorities in the Solomon Islands boarded the ship and found 501kg of cocaine on-board, Tao Qi and his co-conspirator Zhen Zhao, 41, were being arrested at their homes in Sydney.

Authorities say had the cocaine reached the streets, it would have been worth $125 million to $250 million.

Tao Qi, from Wahroonga, was the key facilitator in the large scale drug importation.

Earlier this month he was sentenced to 14 years and five months in prison for a conspiracy to import drugs.

He was also sentenced to five years in prison for knowingly dealing with more than $50,000 in proceeds of crime.

Tao Qi will be eligible for parole on November 26, 2027.

Zhen Zhao was guilty of knowingly dealing with more than $50,000 in the proceeds of crime and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

The NSW District Court allowed for this sentence to be served in the community, by way of an Intensive Correction Order and with the addition of 500 hours of community service.

The Vieux Malin.

Soloman Islands law enforcement authorities prepare to board the vessel.

AFP Detective Superintendent Ben McQuillan said the shutting down of the importation was a sign of the increasing ability of international agencies to work together.

“This was an unprecedented investigation between Australian and Solomon Islands authorities and shows what we can achieve when we work together to slam the brakes on large-scale drug importation by organised crime,” Det Supt McQuillan said.

“The AFP will continue to work tirelessly to outsmart organised crime groups and to halt the importation of illicit drugs into the Australian community.”

The vessel is searched in the Soloman Islands

ABF Enforcement Operations East Acting Commander Garry Low said the ability to stop the shipment well before it entered Australia showed the ability of authorities to interrupt major drug syndicates.

“ABF Officers are not only focused on stopping harmful drugs at the Australian border, they’re working with our partners overseas to stop organised crime before it reaches our shores,” Act Comm Low said.

“This operation required a multi-layered approach, which involved disruptions offshore, detections at the border and targeting the facilitators here in Australia.”