Drug shipment suspect Omer Tok arrested at Melbourne Airport

A Melbourne man charged over a bungled plot to import $60m of cocaine into Victoria has been arrested.

Omer Tok was arrested in Melbourne after he arrived on a flight from Doha. Picture: David Geraghty

A Melbourne man accused over a massive cocaine shipment to southwest Victoria has been arrested.

Omer Tok, 46, was arrested in Melbourne after he arrived on a flight from the Qatari capital of Doha.

Mr Tok left Victoria in 2018.

He was detained by Victorian Joint Organised Crime Taskforce investigators on Saturday after voluntarily flying into Melbourne Airport.

Mr Tok is charged over a bungled 2016 plot to import the $60m worth of cocaine.

He and others are accused of trying to sail a boat from Port Fairy out to a ship called KM8, which was operated by a Chinese crime syndicate, and collect the cache.

Instead, their vessel ran aground on Griffiths Island.

The KM8 was later raided in Hobart where the cocaine was allegedly seized.

Mr Tok and others were later charged by investigators from Operation Barada, a major joint probe into major cocaine importation syndicates.

Omer Tok has been arrested.

He was bailed on a $100,000 surety with a condition he report to police daily.

Mr Tok has been charged with attempting to import cocaine, making false or misleading Australian travel documentation offences, possessing a tablet press and failing to appear in court.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

AFP detective Supt Jason McArthur said police were dedicated to catching drug traffickers, even if it took years.

“Illicit drugs make our communities less safe – criminals’ territorial drug disputes put innocent people at risk, drug-affected drivers are a menace on the roads and the money spent on illicit drugs diverts millions of dollars from the legitimate economy,” detective Supt McArthur said.

“The seizure of the 186kg of cocaine in 2017 prevented those millions of dollars of drug profit from flowing back into a transnational criminal syndicate to fund other illegal ventures. The AFP is also working closely with our law enforcement partners around the world to track down and bring to justice anyone involved in this harmful crime.”

Detective Supt Dave Cowan of Victoria Police’s organised crime division said the arrest of Tok was a warning to those who thought they could hide offshore while making huge profits from crime.

“We do not forget and we do not give up. Victoria Police will continue to work relentlessly with our partners to ensure anyone involved in this criminality is brought to justice no matter how much time has passed,” Detective Superintendent Cowan said.

The Victorian JOCTF is made up of members from the AFP, Victoria Police, Australian Border Force, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Department of Home Affairs.

Tok faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday where he made no attempt at bail.

He was remanded to next appear in court on November 27.