New footage released: Suspected drug mule drowns diving to retrieve 50kg of cocaine in NSW

Fresh footage has been released in connection to the death of a suspected drug mule who drowned while trying to retrieve 50kg of cocaine.

New footage has been released in connection with the death of a suspected drug mule who drowned after diving to the ocean floor off the coast of Newcastle to retrieve $20m worth of cocaine.

In the footage, a police diver can be seen floating next to a large bulk carrier ship looking down into sea waters.

Emergency services were called to Heron Road, near the shipping ports on Kooragang Island around 9.30am on Monday following reports of an unconscious diver on the shore.

Port officials noticed the man floating in the water and he soon washed up on shore weighed down by diving equipment near the northern end of the port.

They performed CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene, but the man died at the scene.

Numerous packages containing more than 50kg of a white powder believed to be cocaine were located in the waters near shore with an estimated potential street value of $20 million.

Police believe the man was not working alone.

Police retrieved a bag of cocaine with a street value of $20 million from the water off the Newcastle coast. Picture: NSW Police

“It‘s a high-end sophisticated operation,” Organised Crime Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Robert Critchlow told reporters on Tuesday.

The volume of the narcotic packages and the nature of the diving operation were indicated by police as signs of the operations sophistication.

“We do have some information about general trafficking and we’ll certainly be leaving no stone unturned in finding out where this package came from and also to identify this man,” Mr Critchlow said.

Police believe the man had been attempting to get the waterproof packages containing cocaine to the surface.

Suspicious activity was reported on Sunday night around a large vessel moored very close to where the man’s body was found.

Around midnight, port officials saw an inflatable rubber dinghy and a five-metre aluminium speedboat with a green stripe floating near the ship under the cover of darkness.

The bulk carrier container ship, known as Areti. GR, from which a drug mule was trying to collect more than 50 kgs of cocaine when he drowned arrived in Newcastle from Argentina. Picture: Zan McLean

Mr Critchlow indicated that the presence of two small boats led them to believe there was more than one person involved in the operation.

“People, don’t scuba dive alone,” he said.

“It's something of concern that there’s evidently more people involved than the dead man.”

The vessel is known as the Areti. GR is registered to the Marshall Islands but originated in Argentina where it was loaded with soy bean powder to transport Australian shores.

It arrived over the weekend and was searched thoroughly this morning with all crew members interviewed by authorities.

A man has drowned while trying to smuggle an estimated more than 50 kilograms of cocaine to shore near the Port of Newcastle. Picture: NSW Police

Authorities are working with South American counterparts to try and identity the vessel’s shipment routes, the origin of the drugs and the identity of the deceased man.

The man was found wearing a hi-tech rebreather device which allowed him to stay underwater for an extended period of time to collect the drugs.

A crime scene was established and the marine police unit, including divers, began searching surrounding waters with the assistance of the Australian Border Force.

A number of packages were also found floating in waters where the man’s body was found.

The man is yet to be formally identified and an investigation by the Organised Crime Squad and Australian Federal Police is now underway.

Around midnight on Sunday, port officials saw an inflatable rubber dinghy and a five-metre aluminium Quintrex runabout with a green stripe seen near floating near the ship under the cover of darkness. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Detectives are working to investigate who the man is, what drug syndicate he may be linked to, and where the cocaine came from.

A number of checks have been undertaken through Australian record systems but police have failed to find a positive match.

However, police suspect the man is not an Australian national.

Police are trying to confirm the movements of the deceased man and believe he travelled separately from the vessel that transported the drugs to Newcastle.

One lead police have revealed is that the man was wearing a wetsuit from the Australian sportswear brand, Sharkskin.

Police divers searched the waters off the coast of the Newcastle port where the deceased man washed onto the shore. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Dive shops that have recently sold a set of diving equipment including a rebreather, and wetsuit in the last few days are told to contact police.

Officers are also working to uncover the events that lead to the man’s death – whether it be a fault in the breathing device or some other cause.

The drug bust comes after Australian authorities thwarted another attempt to smuggle 178kg of cocaine from Brazil to Newcastle in 2021.

“NSW Police and our partners have been aware of Newcastle being a transhipment point for some time,” Mr Critchlow said.

“So we are certainly concerned about the ports of Newcastle and organised crime definitely looks for weaknesses to target those ports.”