Biggest drug bust in Australian history as 1.2 tonnes of ice seized

Heavily armed police seized more than $1bn worth of methamphetamine in the WA port town of Geraldton yesterday.

Heavily armed police stand over suspects after a sting they allege netted $1 billion worth of drugs bound for the east coast.

Heavily armed police seized more than $1 billion worth of methamphetamine in the West Australian port town of Geraldton yesterday in the biggest drug bust in Australian history.

About 1.2 tonnes in 59 bags containing about 20kg each of meth was allegedly removed from a boat named Valkoista and loaded into a white van.

The van was reversing on the town marina’s pier towards a road when police swooped. Authorities believe the drugs came from China and were put on the Val­koista at sea from a “mother ship”.

Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton said the sting would save lives. He said he was very pleased that more than 12 million hits of ice would not make it onto the streets. “There are kids in Australia who will have their lives saved because of the impact that the police have had in the detection of these drugs,” he said.

Eight men, all Australian nationals, have been arrested.

The next biggest drug haul was also this year when police intercepted 903kg in Melbourne.

Yesterday’s sting was preceded by six months of investigation and involved several government agencies led by the Australian Federal Police, who were on the dock, 400km north of Perth, for the seizure.

Police allege the Valkoista arrived in Geraldton about 2am yesterday and the drugs were offloaded into the van just before 4am.

Three people were arrested on the spot; 33-year-old southern Sydney man Serupepeli Anthony Rasaubale and NSW men Waseem Sliwa Hermiz, 38, and 52-year-old Khalid Elia Keana.

Police also boarded the Val­koista where they allegedly found another bag of meth and arrested 45-year-old NSW Central Coast man Joshua Joseph Smith and South Australian men Patrick Leandro Bouhamdan, 48, and 44-year-old Christos Cafcakis. About 20 search warrants were conducted at residences in Sydney, the NSW Central Coast and Adelaide.

Two 37-year-old South Australian men, Stephen John Baxter and Sean Michael Dolman, were later arrested at a Perth hotel and appeared briefly in Perth Magistrates Court yesterday.

The other six men appeared in Geraldton Magistrates Court.

Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner of operations Leanne Close told a press conference yesterday that police believed the drugs originated from China and were destined for the east coast. Purity levels were not yet known.

WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson, whose officers worked on the investigation, said the haul equated to almost 13 million drug deals and the operation was a “tremendous interruption” to the meth supply chain.

“That is a big impact that we’re going to have in ensuring that there is less of this drug now available on the street,” Mr Dawson told reporters.

Australian Border Force WA regional commander Rod O’Donnell said some criminals mistakenly believed they could exploit the country’s vast coastline and evade detection.

“We’re targeting the traffickers at the top end of the echelons,” he said. “These criminals should always be aware and assume that we are watching.”

Charges laid against the eight men include importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, and possessing a commercial quantity of a border- controlled drug reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported.

Both offences carry a maximum penalty of life behind bars.

The Australian Federal Police commissioner Andrew Colvin said on Twitter that he was pleased to announce the seizure of drugs worth $1.04bn, adding that he was “immensely proud of my team in WA and the WA Joint Organised Crime Task Force”.

That taskforce includes Australian Border Force, WA Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.

All of the charged men are scheduled to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on January 17.