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Third Man Sentenced in Foiled 2017 Printer Cocaine Plot in Australia

The case underscores police efforts to stop organized groups using everyday goods to hide drugs.

Overview

  • A 47-year-old Victorian man received nine years in prison with a non-parole period of four and a half years, becoming the third person sentenced in the case.
  • Australian Border Force intercepted five printers in Melbourne on April 30, 2017 and found 10 bricks of compressed powder that tested as cocaine.
  • Authorities removed the drugs, substituted an inert material, and sent the printers to a factory in Airport West to monitor who tried to collect them.
  • Police arrested four men when they attempted to retrieve the shipment in May 2017, and courts later sentenced two others to 10 years in 2022 and 2025 while a fourth man was acquitted.
  • AFP acting commander Simone Butcher said the operation shows how crime groups try to hide narcotics in routine cargo and affirmed ongoing efforts to disrupt them.