International drug syndicate targeting Brisbane ambushed
An international shipment of MDMA big enough to make 7 million ecstasy pills – that was destined to hit Brisbane during Schoolies – has been crushed, leaving a global network that had been operating for years “fully dismantled”.
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A SENSATIONAL undercover sting has ambushed international party-drug kingpins who targeted Brisbane with a shipment of 700kg of crystalline MDMA – enough to make an astonishing seven million ecstasy pills.
One of the biggest MDMA seizures in Australian history has been revealed this morning as details of Operation Parazonium expose the nation’s insatiable appetite for drugs.
Dutch police, who have flown to Brisbane, have outlined the bombshell bust with the Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce, involving Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police, Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.
The 10-month Australian and Dutch investigation has led to the arrest of 10 people in the Netherlands.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton called it a “very significant operation” and one of the most successful in terms of co-operating agencies.
He said parents of children at schoolies “should be very grateful” to law enforcement who’ve prevented the drugs ending up on the Gold Coast.
Mr Dutton said people who claimed the war on Drugs was failing “don’t know what they talking about, they’re pushing an agenda”.
“We need to be very clear eyed we’re dealing with illicit drugs these are not part drugs,”
“We are at war with (organised crime)”.
Head of the Dutch National Criminal Investigations Division said pills fetched just 20 cents in Holland but “$20” in Australia.
“We need to follow the money,” he said in Brisbane this morning.
“We believe this criminal network ..was able to produce...the equivalent of tens of millions of pills much of it destined for Australia.”
He said the network, which had operated globally for years, was now “fully dismantled”.
Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford said co-operation among agencies was critical to success of anti drug operations.
“We will work tirelessly to make sure the drugs don’t reach our shore,” she said.
“This drugs seized was potentially 15 million pills.”
Senior Dutch police officers said information provided Australian authorities helped spark the year-long investigation.
Dutch National Criminal Investigation Assistant Commissioner Andy Kraag said authorities were aware of the drug syndicate but it was the “concrete” tip from Australia that sealed its fate.
“The syndicate was in the drug business for years. And they’re exporting globally,” he said.
“We had leads on this syndicate however the concrete information provided by the Austrlailns gave us the leads to actually start this investigation.
“The joint operation allowed us to close out on these criminals and fully expose and break down this network.”
He said the drugs were found in hidden in a barn.
Dutch media have reported drugs were also seized at the port of Rotterdam from where it was due to set sail for Brisbane.
Ast Com Kraag told Holland’s largest morning newspaper that the “Brabant pill mafia” had its eyes on Australia.
Brabant, a region in Holland, is considered the global epicentre of synthetic drug production.
“We now see that the Brabant criminals have discovered that a huge amount of meth is consumed in Australia. They are now adapting their drug production to this development,”he told de Telegraaf.
Ecstasy can be produced for 20 cents a pill in Holland but sells for more than 10 times that in Australia.
Mr Dutton acknowledged Australia’s desirability as a market for illegal drug manufacturers.
“Well I think we’ve demonstrated over a long period of time that Australians will pay above world market prices , and there t seems to be an appetite insatiable in some instances where people do demand that drug,” he said.
Despite indications some of the drugs were headed to the Gold Coast for Schoolies Mr Dutton said he did not believe pill-testing was a solution.
A woman in NSW was extradited to Brisbane on November 12, charged with one count of attempt to possess a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs.
The Australian offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The drugs, which would have arrived in Brisbane before Schoolies – but was much too large an amount to be targeted solely at the event – comes as debate rages in Australia about pill testing at music festivals.
The undercover operation, which included embedded AFP officers overseas, intercepted the 700kg of crystalline MDMA, near Rotterdam, Amsterdam.
With a street value of $140 million, the drugs were packed in a shipping container topped with tinned pulped tomatoes.
It is understood law enforcement intercepted the drugs before they were shipped, but the offenders believed the contraband had been sent to Brisbane.
Further details about the undercover operation, and how police infiltrated the syndicate, could be revealed on Friday.
After the initial haul was seized in Rotterdam on August 23, a further 15 search warrants were executed in Belgium and the Netherlands on November 5, netting a further 150kg of crystalline MDMA.
Dutch Criminal Investigation Division seized 548 litres of MDMA oil, capable of producing about 658kg of crystalline MDMA, which has an estimated street value of $131.6 million.
About 400 litres of precursor chemicals were also seized.
Authorities believe the second load may too have been destined for Australia, meaning a whopping 850kg of crystalline MDMA – capable of producing 8.5 million ecstasy pills – could have hit the party circuit, causing havoc for police and paramedics.
Two key members of the syndicate – father and son Paulus Johannes Berkhof, 58, and Petronella Adrianna Waltherus Adriaan Berkhof, 37 – have been charged in the Netherlands but will not be extradited to Australia.
Exclusive vision obtained by The Courier-Mail shows armed Dutch police – some carrying chainsaws – descending on a rural property where a hi-tech laboratory was shielded in a hay barn.
Bails of hay hid chemicals, equipment and large amounts of drugs.
It is unknown why the transnational crime group targeted Brisbane, but it is estimated more than 1.1 tonnes of MDMA is consumed in Australia each year, with 223kg in Queensland alone.
New AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw, who will be in Brisbane on Friday, said it was important that the offenders faced prosecution.
“The AFP is committed to working closely with its law enforcement partners here in Australia, through partnerships such as the Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce, and overseas to ensure offenders face considerable consequences for their actions,” Mr Kershaw told The Courier-Mail.
“I wish to thank our Dutch counterparts for their expert involvement in this investigation and strong support of our efforts to keep these drugs off Australian shores.”
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the operation underscored the country’s tough stance on drugs.
“As a result of close co-operation between our Commonwealth, State and international agencies, this operation has prevented nearly $140 million of illicit drugs from reaching our streets – drugs that would have had a devastating impact on Australian lives and families,” he said.
“Drug abuse destroys lives and families and this investigation highlights the organised, well-financed nature of these criminal networks who seek to do harm to our communities.
“When our agencies work together – both domestically and internationally – we help ensure Australia is safer and more secure.
“Today we are sending a clear message to serious crime networks: Australian law enforcement will not stop, and Australia is not open for business with organised crime.”
Don’t miss the eight-page special report on drugs, The Ripple Effect, starting this Sunday in the Sunday Mail and online at couriermail.com.au. It’s the confronting series every parent must read.
Originally published as International drug syndicate targeting Brisbane ambushed