Overview

• A 53-year-old Norwegian national was sentenced on August 13 to nine years and 11 months in prison with a non-parole period of four years and 11 months after pleading guilty to attempting to possess a commercial quantity of cocaine.
• His 35-year-old co-defendant received a 10-year, two-month sentence with a non-parole period of five years and nine months in March 2025 following a guilty plea to the same offence.
• Investigators traced the smuggling attempt to January 2023, when divers recovered 82 packages of cocaine worth about $26 million from waterproof duffel bags concealed inside the hull of a Brazilian bulk carrier docked at Newcastle.
• Authorities say tip-offs from a passer-by and a Crime Stoppers caller prompted a coordinated dive operation by NSW Police, the AFP and the ABF that led to the men’s arrests at Newcastle harbour.
• Seized seabobs, scuba equipment, electronic devices and travel documents linked the men to purchases in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Nelson Bay and Newcastle and helped reconstruct their smuggling plan.