Gold Coast crime: Cops find $346k of cocaine hidden in PlayStation 5

Police have cracked into an international drug smuggling ring, after discovering $346,000 worth of cocaine secreted in an in-demand electronic device.

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A BRICK of cocaine worth more than $346,000 hidden in a PlayStation 5 was destined to be sold on Gold Coast streets, it will be alleged.

The 1.5kg of cocaine was allegedly found during a joint Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police, Border Force and NSW Police operation on the Gold Coast.

The drugs were found in a “suspicious consignment” which arrived in Sydney from Portugal last month.

Police examined the package and found the PlayStation 5 allegedly filled with white powder. It will be alleged that tests found the powder to be cocaine.

The package was destined for an address in Tweed Heads.

Investigators replaced the original parcel with a replica which was allegedly collected by a 48-year-old man.

Three men were arrested on October 12 and search warrants were later conducted in Burleigh Heads and Tugun.

A 48-year-old Tweed Heads man and a 32-year-old Palm Beach man are both scheduled to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.

They have been charged with attempting to possess a marketable quantity of border controlled drugs, namely cocaine.

A Burleigh Heads man, 35, was charged with attempting to possess a marketable quantity of border controlled drugs. He is scheduled to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday.

About 1.5kg of cocaine has an estimated street value of $346,500 – more than six times and annual median wage.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Ben Moses said the goal was to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs from overseas.

“Illicit drugs continue to enrich organised crime, enabling them to buy more guns, fuelling more violence and making our communities less safe,” he said.

ABF Acting Commander Amanda Coppleman said that this case showed how border detection capabilities were helping combat the drug trade.

“Border detections by our officers are generating hundreds of referrals to the taskforce.

These detection referrals have included narcotic detections comprising cocaine, MDMA, GHB and heroin,” Acting Commander Coppleman said.

Taskforce Sentry – the operation the ran the bust – consists of a number of police agencies at a federal and state level working together to take down syndicates who smuggle and distribute illicit items though the post and cargo systems.

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