Five men have been charged over an alleged plot to import 100kg of cocaine from South Africa through Sydney Airport.
It is alleged a 55-year-old Mascot man and a 61-year-old Coogee man used their employment and access to freight handling operations at Sydney’s international airport to remove five large bags containing cocaine from a container in the cargo hold of an aircraft, recently arrived from South Africa, on Saturday, October 7.
They then allegedly put the five bags in a car driven by a 24-year-old Sydney man outside an airport freight terminal.
It will be alleged the Sydney man was acting on behalf of the facilitator of the smuggling operation to collect the cocaine ahead of selling it in Australia.
All three men were arrested shortly after the handover on Saturday afternoon.
Each of the five bags found in the car contained bricks of a white substance wrapped in black plastic.
Forensic testing confirmed the substance was cocaine, the Australian Federal Police said, with each bag containing about 20kgs.
A 62-year-old Hillsdale man is accused of coordinating the removal of the cocaine from the plane by the two airport insiders. He was arrested on Saturday in Coogee.
A 42-year-old Padstow man, accused of being the head of the Australian end of the smuggling operation, was arrested at Rushcutter’s Bay on Saturday evening.
The group has been the subject of a 12-month investigation.
All five faced court yesterday and have been remanded in custody until their next appearance on November 30.
If found guilty, they could all face life in prison.
The cocaine haul could have been sold as 100,000 individual street deals, with an estimated street value of $40 million, the AFP said.
(9 NEWS)
