Port of Newcastle: the world’s biggest coal port and its quiet attraction for cocaine smugglers

It is deep, it is busy and there are suggestions Newcastle has become the sleepy destination of choice to feed Australia‘s insatiable appetite for cocaine.

It is the potential billion-dollar ripple effect reverberating across the sea of Australia’s organised crime gangs following the apparent fatal diving error by a foreign national drug mule in the murky early morning waters of Newcastle harbour.

The death of the diver and discovery of more than 50kg of cocaine – suspected of only being a fraction of the shipment being offloaded beside Kooragang Island in the heart of Newcastle – may have switched the relative backwaters of the world’s largest coal port now back under the law enforcement microscope.

Crime experts have warned that a perfect mix of high ship movements, a deep harbour and a relative lack of focus from authorities has gifted the Port of Newcastle to canny organised crime gangs keen to increase the percentage of mass cocaine shipments which successfully bypass the reach of authorities.

A drug mule has drowned while trying to smuggle an estimated more than 50 kilograms of cocaine to shore near the Port of Newcastle.

One senior law enforcement officer said there had been long-held suspicions about significant levels of drug imports centring on Newcastle, especially since the removal of the last Australia Federal Police officers from the city well over a decade ago.

And with the street price of cocaine increasing to $450 a gram in some areas of Australia – despite a kilogram of pure Colombian cocaine being offloaded in South American ports for as little as $1000 – the potential profits are staggering.

Australia’s ports come under the responsibilities of the Federal Government and the movement of goods across the borders are policed by the Australian Border Force.

“It is busy, it is deep and it has been ignored by the feds,” one law enforcement official said.

“There has not been any analyses done on the organised crime links to the wharves.

Cocaine Smuggler

“We know the [outlaw motorcycle gangs] have had a presence there, whether it be fully-patched members or people with close associations with the bikies.

“But there is next to no coverage of who is who in the zoo down there.

“Hopefully this is the catalyst for the feds to go hard at those who are using the harbour as an import hub because we suspect it isn’t just drugs either – it would be guns and all sorts of things.

“Why would you bother worrying about Sydney or Melbourne when you have the deep and busy harbour port at your disposal with no one watching what you are doing.’’

Police divers on the banks of the Hunter River on Tuesday. Picture by Peter Lorimer

NSW Police organised crime squad boss Rob Critchlow mentioned the intelligence regarding the Port of Newcastle during a press conference on Tuesday about the diver’s death and the cocaine seized.

“NSW Police and our partners have been aware of Newcastle Port being a drug shipping port for some time,” Det Supt Critchlow said.

“There have been some indications in the past of OMCG (outlaw motorcycle gang) involvement around the docks, and again we’ve worked very closely with our partners to remove them from the system.’’

Just last year, the Australian Federal Police made an arrest over the alleged attempt to import more than 200kg of cocaine from South America to Newcastle.

Nobbys Headland and the entrance to Newcastle harbour – the world’s largest coal port and a growing attraction for drug smugglers.

The Daily Telegraph revealed that the 216kg was secreted in the ship’s sea chest, described as an opening in the ship’s hull, below the waterline, through which seawater is pumped to full ballast tanks or to cool the engine room.

The same method was used in the shipment found on Monday.

A Port of Newcastle spokeswoman declined to comment on Tuesday, stating the discovery of the diver’s body and the ongoing investigation was a matter for police.