An unassuming white van waited in a Maroubra public car park in the dead of night. A 23-year-old man from Angus, in Sydney’s north-west, walked up to it, allegedly planning to collect millions of dollars worth of ketamine hidden under its seats.
Police say he was sent there by a 39-year-old Mascot man who was also allegedly behind the botched importation of 111 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $68.5 million.
The AFP say they seized ketamine inside this white van and replaced it with a harmless substance.
But there was no ketamine inside the van. Australian Federal Police officers had already intercepted it and two other vehicles being transported to Australia in a bulk cargo shipment. They allegedly found 30 kilograms of ketamine worth an estimated $7.35 million, which they replaced with a harmless substance.
AFP officers arrested the 23-year-old as he opened the van, allegedly finding three phones in the vehicle he had driven to Maroubra.
Simultaneously, police carried out a search warrant at the Mascot home of his alleged drug boss. The officers arrested the man and seized several mobile phones, including at least one dedicated encrypted device, and $37,000 in cash.
They had been investigating the 39-year-old since last year and his alleged criminal syndicate since December 2022 under Operation Drake.
A 23-year-old man was arrested at a Maroubra public car park in March.
Operation Drake was formed after the AFP received intelligence about a criminal syndicate allegedly importing cocaine into Australia.
Soon enough, the AFP and NSW Police’s organised crime squad found the 39-year-old who was allegedly facilitating the massive drug imports.
Police say he was linked to the alleged planned importation of 50 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside refrigerated commercial shipping containers, coming via New Zealand.
The AFP alerted the New Zealand Customs Service, which seized the cocaine in April last year.
A 39-year-old man from Mascot was also arrested.
Then, in October, Australian Border Force officers found two black duffel bags containing 50 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a shipment of plastic furniture.
Police allege the Mascot man was behind that shipment from South America, as well as a third attempted importation of 111 kilograms of cocaine hidden in four duffel bags inside a container, found by ABF officers at Port Melbourne.
The total estimated street value of the cocaine in the three seizures was $68,575,000.
The 39-year-old was charged with three counts of attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and one count of possessing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
Police allegedly found massive amounts of ketamine hidden under the vans’ seats.
The 23-year-old was charged with one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
AFP Commander Kate Ferry said these types of investigations “show the resolve of our people in making Australia a hostile environment for organised crime”.
Director of NSW Police State Crime Command, Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein, said the seizures reflected police capabilities and “gives a snapshot into how real the problem is”.
The investigation began in 2022, with the AFP’s formation of Operation Drake.
The two men faced Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, where the 39-year-old did not apply for bail. The 23-year-old was granted bail on Monday and his bail was continued. They will return to court on September 4.
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