Ship captain charged over 320kg Western Australia cocaine haul

A ship captain’s alleged move to drop 320kg of drugs into the ocean for pick-up has spectacularly come undone.

A ship captain faces life in jail after being charged over a plot to import 320kg of cocaine into Australia via Western Australia.

AFP officers swooped on the 51-year-old master of an international bulk shipping carrier on-board the cargo vessel Interlink Veracity on Monday.

The Montenegrin national is expected to front South Hedland Court on Tuesday, charged with importing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The cocaine – worth about $128m – was seized by authorities in Port Hedland on May 15.

Police will allege the Montenegrin national smuggled the cocaine onto the cargo vessel Interlink Veracity at an overseas port.

He then allegedly waited until the vessel was anchored in Australian waters about 28km off Port Hedland on May 14 and dropped the packages into the ocean for retrieval.

Two other men – a German national, 37, and NSW man, 49 – allegedly used a small boat to pick up the plastic-wrapped drugs that evening from the water off the coast of the Pilbara town.

AFP officers have charged a ship captain over a 320kg cocaine plot. Image: AFP

The pair were then arrested and each charged with importing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs and failing to comply with an order to reveal their passwords.

The pair have been remanded in custody and are next due in court on June 15.

AFP, Western Australia Police and Australian Border Force officers searched the 179m bulk carrier again on Monday as part of an ongoing probe into the alleged trafficking ring, which was disrupted after a multi-agency investigation.

The Montenegrin man’s arrest comes after a forensic examination of a mobile device seized from him last week allegedly uncovered messages relating to the drug importation.

Three people have been charged with an offence that carries life in jail. Picture: AFP

AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner John Tanti said the AFP and its partners would be relentless in pursuing anyone involved in the venture.

“Trusted insiders are one of the highest threats to the integrity of Australia’s cargo supply chains,” Mr Tanti said.

“Transnational organised crime syndicates rely on people who are willing to abuse the access and influence they have through their employment to help bring illicit drugs into Australia, as the accused is alleged to have done in this case.”

He said the AFP was working with international partners to target organised crime syndicates offshore and ensure they could not profit at the expense of Australian communities.