Overview
- Members of the public reported large packages tied to a floating drum about 30km off Lancelin on November 6, leading police to recover 525kg of cocaine valued at about $170 million.
- The vessel’s 46-year-old Croatian chief officer has been charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of cocaine and is remanded to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on January 23.
- Investigators who searched the ship reported finding a blue drum and similar ropes to those recovered with the drugs, and alleged a CCTV camera was covered during the offload.
- Two Sydney men, aged 19 and 36, were rescued days earlier from a boat off Guilderton, later extradited to WA, and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of a border‑controlled drug.
- A 52-year-old Perth man has been charged with attempting to possess a prohibited drug, and the WA Joint Organised Crime Taskforce says the inquiry into the wider syndicate continues with further arrests expected.