Rocky Cape, Tasmania: Joshua Hay and Craig Castle charged $4.6m meth, cocaine trafficking

A pair of men accused of smuggling millions of dollars worth of cocaine and meth into the state by boat from Victoria have been brought before a magistrate for the first time. What police allege.

Craig Aaron Castle, 34, of Elderslie and Joshua Charles Hay, 40, of Swansea, are charged with trafficking in a controlled substance after they were allegedly found with 4kg of cocaine and 3kg of meth during an intercept at Rocky Cape on December 7, 2023.

Latest: Police will allege two Tasmanian men travelled from Rocky Cape to Victoria and back in a fishing boat to import a huge quantity of illicit drugs.

Craig Aaron Castle, 34, of Elderslie, and Joshua Charles Hay, 40, of Swansea, have been charged with trafficking in a controlled substance for allegedly attempting to bring 4kg of cocaine and 3kg of methylamphetamine to Tasmania.

Southern District Commander Jason Elmer said the two men were intercepted by police in the early hours of December 7 at a boat ramp at Rocky Cape.

Detective Inspector David Gill and Commander Jason Elmer with the $4.6m worth of seized drugs, and firearm. Picture: Chris Kidd

Police arrested the men and seized a vehicle and a vessel, along with the drugs and a handgun.

Commander Elmer said police had been acting on “intelligence and information”.

“We are very committed to preventing the importation and distribution of illicit drugs in Tasmania and we have dedicated teams of investigators across the state who investigate these types of matters,” he said.

“The Southern drugs and firearms unit, who had control of this investigation, have done and outstanding job and we are very proud of their efforts.”

Commander Elmer said police would allege the men used the fishing vessel to travel to and from the mainland for the purposes of collecting the drugs.

“It will be alleged the boat left from where it was intercepted,” he said

Earlier: A pair of men accused of smuggling millions of dollars worth of cocaine and meth into the state have been brought before a magistrate for the first time.

Craig Aaron Castle, 34, of Elderslie, and Joshua Charles Hay, 40, of Swansea, appeared before Magistrate Jackie Hartnett in Hobart Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.

Joshua Charles Hay is accused of trafficking meth and cocaine into Tasmania.

Mr Castle was granted bail.

He was ordered to reappear in Devonport Magistrates Court in the new year, on January 25.

Mr Hay will remain in custody over Christmas, with his bail application adjourned to the same date as Mr Castle’s next appearance.

Initial: Two men have been arrested and charged after police allegedly found “significant quantities” of cocaine and meth after intercepting their vessel and vehicle – in what police are calling the “biggest seizure” of the drugs in the state’s history.

Tasmania Police officers allegedly found 4kg of cocaine and 3kg of methylamphetamine in a nearby area after intercepting the pair’s vessel and vehicle, after they arrived at Rocky Cape in the state’s north west.

Craig Aaron Castle, 34, of Elderslie and Joshua Charles Hay, 40, of Swansea, are charged with trafficking in a controlled substance after they were allegedly found with 4kg of cocaine and 3kg of meth during an intercept at Rocky Cape on December 7, 2023.

Police say the pair – a 34-year-old man from Elderslie and 40-year-old Swansea man – had travelled from Victoria in the early hours of Thursday, December 7.

In a statement, police said they also allegedly found a .22 pistol and ammunition in the men’s possession.

The vehicle, vessel and trailer were seized by police, and have an estimated value in excess of $250k.

Southern District Commander Jason Elmer said this was the “biggest seizure of methylamphetamine and cocaine in Tasmania’s history”.

“This equates to about 30,000 street deals of [meth] and 4000 street deals of cocaine,” he said.

The combined street value of the drugs is said to sit at $4.6 million.

Commander Elmer said police would actively target those who sought to profit from selling “harmful drugs” to Tasmanians.

“We are committed to preventing the importation and distribution of these substances,” he said.

Both men were charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and firearms offences.

They were remanded in custody and will reappear in Hobart Magistrates Court this morning.
More to come.

Originally published as Rocky Cape, Tasmania: Joshua Hay and Craig Castle charged $4.6m meth, cocaine trafficking