Four men, including the chief officer of an international livestock carrier, have been charged over their alleged roles in an organised crime plot to import more than 525kg of cocaine, after packages of the drug were recently found floating in the ocean off Western Australia.
A Western Australia Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (WA JOCTF) investigation into suspicious activity by an international vessel was already under way when members of the public alerted police on November 6 after finding large packages tied to flotation drums about 30 kilometres offshore.
Later that day, Western Australia Police Force and Australian Federal Police officers collected the bundles off the coast of Lancelin, about 125 kilometres north of Perth, with the seizure estimated to contain about 525 kg of cocaine.
The Australian Border Force said forensic specialists are examining the seized drugs to determine the exact weight and purity, but it is estimated this shipment could have been distributed as more than 2.6 million individual street deals with a street value of more than AU$170 million (US$110 million).
The WA JOCTF will allege the drugs were dropped into the ocean from an international livestock carrier on its way to Fremantle Harbour.
On November 7, police charged the vessel’s chief officer – a 46-year-old Croatian national – with attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
During a search of the ship, JOCTF investigators located a blue drum and ropes allegedly similar to those found with the drugs. It will also be alleged examination of the vessel identified that rails had been removed and reinstalled without welding work permits submitted and that a CCTV camera had been covered while the drugs were allegedly offloaded from the ship.
A Perth man, 52, and two Sydney men, aged 19 and 36, have also been charged in connection with the thwarted import.
On November 3, emergency services were called about a vessel in distress off the coast of Guilderton. Two Sydney men, age 19 and 36, were found on a boat that was taking on water and were brought safely to shore without injury.
Police began investigating after details of their trip raised suspicions. Those inquiries led to the identification of a 52-year-old Perth man.
Police will allege all three men made attempts at various times to retrieve the cocaine from the ocean after launching boats from Two Rocks boat ramp.
The 52-year-old was charged in Perth on November 6 with one count of attempt to possess a prohibited drug, contrary to section 6(1)(a) of the Misuse of Drugs Act (WA).
The 19-year-old was arrested in Sydney on November 18 and was extradited to WA. He appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on November 20, charged with one count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, namely cocaine, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code.
The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.
The 36-year-old was arrested in Sydney on November 20. He appeared in court in New South Wales on November 21 and was also extradited to WA. He has also been charged with one count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug.
The 46-year-old Croatian national was remanded in custody to next appear in Perth Magistrates Court on January 23, 2026. The maximum penalty for attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug is life imprisonment.
Investigations remain ongoing into the organised crime syndicate behind the plot and the origin of the cocaine, with more arrests expected.
