Australian police have uncovered 2.7 metric tons (3 tons) of cocaine on a property in Sydney's outskirts, marking the largest seizure of the drug in the nation's history. The drugs were discovered on June 19 in plastic tubs buried in underground bunkers hidden beneath three shipping containers on a semirural property in Londonderry, on Sydney's western edge. The Queensland Joint Organized Crime Taskforce reported that the containers had false floors providing access to the cocaine, which police estimate has a street value of 816 million Australian dollars ($572 million).
Arrests and Charges
Two Sydney residents, men aged 21 and 25, were arrested at the property and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an illicit drug. They face potential sentences of life in prison if convicted. The previous record cocaine haul in Australia was 2.34 metric tons (2.58 tons) seized in 2024 from a fishing boat near K'gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, off the Queensland coast.
Smuggling Route and Investigation
Police allege that the cocaine landed by boat at Midge Point in the sparsely populated Queensland tropics. A Sydney organized crime group then transported the drug by road to Sydney, a distance of 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles). Authorities suspect the shipment came from the same mother ship as 178 kilograms (392 pounds) of cocaine previously seized in Queensland. Six people have been charged over that cocaine and 142 kilograms (313 pounds) of methamphetamine also found in the investigation. The suspected mother ship is the MV Wealth, a Belize-flagged cargo vessel seized by authorities in Solomon Islands on suspicion of involvement in transnational organized crime. The Solomons are 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Queensland.
Targeting Australia's Coastline
Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay stated that organized crime groups are increasingly targeting Queensland's 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) coastline to smuggle drugs. Australia's high cocaine prices, among the world's highest, make it a lucrative market for drug traffickers. The investigation continues as authorities work to dismantle the network behind the shipment.
