Two men charged over alleged cocaine smuggling plot
Two men aged in their late 60s have been charged with allegedly attempting to traffick masses of cocaine into Australia as part of a long-term investigation into a major international crime syndicate.
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A Romanian grandfather has been charged over an alleged plot to smuggle 500kg of cocaine into Australia.
Stelian State, 69, was arrested alongside co-accused Nicholas St James, 66, by drug squad detectives in Glen Waverley on Tuesday.
Police charged the pair with attempting to traffick a large commercial quantity of a drug of dependence in Melbourne between October 31 and November 26.
They both appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for a brief administrative hearing on Wednesday.
No details were aired about the circumstances of their alleged criminal dealings.
The Herald Sun understands the arrests form part of Operation Mako, which is investigating a sophisticated international drug trafficking syndicate involved in the large-scale importation of cocaine into Australia.
Foreign law enforcement are also involved in the ongoing probe.
Mr State, a Romanian national, sat quietly in the dock, only speaking up when his lawyer mentioned he needed to see a doctor because he was on medication for diabetes and high blood pressure.
When she named the two medications, he said they were not available in Australia.
“They don’t have this here,” he said, adding how he did have some in his personal belongings that were seized on his arrest and asked magistrate Simon Zebrowksi to order he could access them.
But Mr Zebrowski said that was out of his control, and that he could only note to custody officers that he took those medications.
The court heard it was Mr State’s first time in custody.
It is not known how he and Mr St James, from Bulleen, knew each other.
They were both remanded in custody to appear again on February 26.