Man arrested as Operation Poitiers allegedly snares 200kg of drugs on vessel off NSW coast
Video footage shows the dramatic water arrest of a man accused of importing 200kg of cocaine into Sydney via an at-sea pick up from a cargo ship.
Police watched and waited as a small boat left the heads of Botany Bay to rendezvous with a container ship launched from Belgium and allegedly collect 200kg of cocaine bound for Australian streets.
On board the boat, police allege, was South Australian Jake Laurens Hurkmans who was intercepted in dim light and high seas as he attempted to return to the drugs to shore.
The bust in the early hours of Thursday morning followed a joint investigation from the Australian Federal Police, NSW Police and Australian Border Force dubbed Operation Poitiers.
After receiving a tip from overseas on March 6, the agencies worked together to track the container known as the MSC Joanna and plan how to snare its alleged bounty.
It led to the arrest of Mr Hurkmans, the alleged seizure of millions of dollars worth of drugs and the alleged discovery of $500,000 in cash stashed in a storage unit at Caringbah.
Vision from the dramatic arrest shows a police boat speed through the water to catch up with Mr Hurkmans before yelling at him to “stop” and pointing what appears to be a machine gun at him.
The 27-year-old throws his hands up in surrender before police board the boat and begin searching through the green-lidded tubs on board.
Mr Hurkmans was refused bail to face Central Local Court on Friday on charges of importing and possessing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
The Elizabeth Parks man did not appear on screen as his matter was adjourned without a bail application, where lawyer Brian Walker said his client was “doing OK” in custody but declined to comment further.
“They’re serious charges, the matter is before the court. We’ll let the justice system take its course,” he said.
Footage from Mr Hurkmans’ arrest shows him being led off a police boat docked at Balmain wearing a yellow life jacket, beige shirt, brown shorts and handcuffs.
In the hull of a black boat were several large green-lidded plastic tubs.
Police will allege in court that inside those tubs were bundles of cocaine wrapped in black plastic bags.
AFP eastern commander Kirsty Schofield told media Mr Hurkmans was seen to allegedly launch his vessel from Taren Point about 3.45am on Thursday morning and was tracked headed south to a spot off the Royal National Park.
Officers allegedly saw the boat, referred to as the “daughter ship”, trail in the wake of the container ship before coming to a halt for up to an hour.
Police will allege Mr Hurkmans was on board when NSW maritime command officers intercepted the boat on open seas, before it was towed to Balmain and found to be carrying 11 large plastic tubs filled with drugs.
Commander Schofield said police will allege the “mother ship” – the MSC Joanna – had carried the drugs all the way from Belgium.
No charges have been laid against any crew from the MSC Joanna
Officers also raided the 330m-long ship docked at Port Botany on Thursday, scouring the 1500 containers containing refrigeration goods on board, while all crew members were to be interviewed.
“The transfer at seas is a well-known method that a lot of organised crime groups use,” she said.
Mr Hurkmans appeared to only be in Sydney for the alleged drop and had a skill set that would have helped in the endeavour at sea, she said.
Commander Schofield said investigations were ongoing and did not rule further arrests.
Australian Border Force Acting Commander Gary Low praised the collaborative work of authorities to track the vessels along the NSW coast.
He said that the alleged drug runners chose to conduct business so close to shore made it “quite a brazen” attempt.
NSW Police’s State Crime Director Darren Bennett said conditions out at sea made for a “very difficult” operation for officers.
“The seas were quite rough on the morning and they had to get out on the ocean very early when it was dark,” he said.
“When you’ve got a really large tanker and a really small daughter vessel, was a tribute to our professionalism to get this (alleged) offender and get this cocaine without losing any over the side.”
It was the third time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit that criminal groups had allegedly tried to smuggle cocaine into Sydney, Superintended Bennet said.
Speaking generally, Commander Schofield said closed borders had not deterred those trying to import drugs from overseas as Australia’s “insatiable appetite” made it a lucrative market.
“I would say that 2020 was a really, really busy year for us and all agencies doing importation work,” she said.
“I did not see the drug trade slow down at all. There’s still a lot of drugs coming through air cargo, mail and through these sort of ventures as well.”
Mr Hurkmans will reappear in court on May 5.
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