Cocaine found in the hull of a ship at Port Melbourne after arriving from Argentina
A remote-controlled robot has helped track down a 200kg shipment of cocaine hidden in the hull of a ship that arrived at Port Melbourne from Argentina last month.
Australian Border Force officers used the underwater vehicle to search the ship below the waterline and found the drugs in the ship’s sea chest, where water is pumped in and out of the ballast tanks.
Specialist divers from the Victoria Police Search and Rescue Squad retrieved the packages, which were seized by federal police. They have an estimated street value of $80 million.
AFP officers from the Australian Federal Police have discovered a huge shipment of cocaine after using a remote-controlled robot to seize the 200kg package of drugs (pictured) hidden in the hull of a ship at Port Melbourne in Victoria was found.
AFP Commander Richard Chin said illegal packages were regularly stashed in such areas and posed a serious risk to drug smugglers when they tried to retrieve them.
“This method of concealment is not new, and this seizure is yet another example of law enforcement staying one step ahead of criminals trying to bring harmful, illegal drugs into our country and our community,” he said.
Earlier this year, the body of a police diver trying to recover drugs was found after drugs stashed in a similar manner were discovered at Newcastle Harbour.
ABF Commander Clinton Sims said organized crime groups regularly used parasitic hull mounts on commercial ships to transport drugs across the border.
The drugs (pictured) have an estimated street value of $80 million and are believed to have arrived on Australian shores from Argentina in August.
After the drugs were seized, the ship and crew continued from Victoria to Western Australia and then back to South Australia
“In response, the ABF is using remotely operated underwater vehicles to enhance our ability to conduct mass screening of ship hulls and voids to detect hidden pockets of illicit drugs below the waterline,” he said.
After the drugs were seized, the ship and crew continued from Victoria to Western Australia and then back to South Australia.
Police are calling on anyone with information about the drugs or who has spotted suspicious activity at ports in any of the three states to come forward.
“It could be something as small as an unusual purchase of a boat paid for in cash, to suspicious activity in one of our ports,” Commander Chin said.