Melbourne crime: Cocaine stash found in Clayton construction equipment delivery
A worker at a machinery dealer in Melbourne’s southeast has uncovered a massive stash of cocaine inside a shipment allegedly smuggled by an international ring.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
International drug smugglers allegedly tried to stash blocks of cocaine inside a construction equipment delivery to a major machinery dealer in Melbourne’s southeast.
An employee at William Adams, a major provider of Caterpillar construction and mining equipment, discovered the “large commercial quantity” of the drug while inspecting the shipment in Clayton on October 6.
The Major Drug Squad was on Wednesday afternoon probing the delivery that arrived from overseas at the equipment supplier’s Nantilla Rd property.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the blocks of cocaine were hidden inside a delivery containing new machinery.
A William Adams spokesman told the Herald Sun the employee who discovered the illegal shipment hidden inside their delivery raised the alarm.
“William Adams Pty Ltd received a delivery of equipment, manufactured overseas, that was received at our facility in Clayton, Victoria,” the spokesman said.
“Management immediately contacted the Victorian Police.
“We commend our team for their actions upon the arrival of the equipment to our facility.
“The matter is now with the Victorian Police.”
It comes as police busted a separate drug trafficking operation across Melbourne and Shepparton, arresting 15 people in a string of drug and firearms raids last week.
Investigators discovered 842g of meth valued at more than $100,000, 40g of cocaine, imitation firearms and ammunition among more than $50,000 in cash at properties belonging to those believed to be trafficking drugs throughout the Shepparton area and Melbourne.
The investigation into the Clayton discovery is ongoing.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers.
Victoria desperately needs 1000 new cops as vacancies soar
More than 1000 police jobs in Victoria sit empty, with a surge in officers quitting the force in the past two months.
Loved ones of man found dead in Yarra River remember ‘gentle soul’
Friends of a Clyde North man whose body was pulled from the Yarra River have told of the “massive hole” left in their community, remembering him as a “gentle and cheerful soul”.