Australian authorities have made a record-breaking seizure, uncovering 3 tons of cocaine hidden in plastic containers beneath the outskirts of Sydney. The operation marks the largest cocaine confiscation in the country’s history, according to an organized crime investigation unit.

An organized crime group based in Sydney allegedly coordinated the delivery using a foreign vessel to transfer the cocaine from northern Queensland to Sydney for distribution, authorities stated.

Investigations into the origin of the drugs remain ongoing, and we will work with our international and domestic law enforcement partners to identify the criminal syndicates, said Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay.

The street value of the cocaine would have exceeded Aus$800 million ($560 million), funds now denied to organized criminal networks, Jay emphasized.

Images released by police depicted the cocaine hidden in large containers, alongside scenes of officers collecting evidence and apprehending suspects.

We know criminals go to extreme lengths, and often risk their own lives, to smuggle drugs into Australia with no regard to the harm they cause to Australian communities, Jay remarked.

The MV Wealth, a suspected mother vessel involved in the drug importation, has been detained in the Solomon Islands for further inquiry.

Police highlighted that Pacific Island nations have become critical transit points for lucrative cocaine and methamphetamine shipments from regions such as South America and Southeast Asia heading towards Australia and New Zealand.

Criminals don’t care about borders, and they exploit our oceans to traffic drugs, police stated via social media.

Officers discovered the cocaine on Friday, stashed in plastic tubs within underground bunkers, disguised by false floors. This discovery occurred at a property in Londonderry, a semi-rural suburb northwest of Sydney.

Two men, aged 21 and 25, who attempted to flee, were caught and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported drug, a crime punishable by life imprisonment.

Six others previously involved in the cocaine’s importation had been apprehended and charged with related drug offenses. Among them was a 31-year-old woman allegedly living in a safe house linked to the operation.

Cocaine-related fatalities in Australia saw a 28% rise, reaching a peak of 141 deaths in 2024, as detailed in a recent overdoses report by the Penington Institute.

The cocaine seizure aligns with several recent major drug busts in the nation. In September, three dockworkers faced charges after over 1,000 pounds of cocaine were discovered behind a fake wall in a shipping container in Sydney. Concurrently, police dismantled a trafficking ring named ‘The Commission,’ which had introduced over a ton of cocaine into Australia within a few months.

In December 2024, a seizure of 2.3 tons of cocaine resulted in the arrest of 13 individuals after a fishing vessel malfunctioned off Queensland’s coast.

This seizure also coincides with another underground drug operation unearthed earlier in June by U.S. authorities. They revealed a sophisticated 2,000-foot-long drug tunnel between Mexico and California equipped with electricity, reinforced walls, ventilation, and a rail system.