Australia’s Federal Police and Border Force has reported the second-largest cocaine bust ever made in South Australia. The cocaine was reportedly hidden within opulent buses that were being transported onto a vehicle carrier.
The Australian Broadcasting Network has identified the vessel as GRACIOUS ACE. The Japanese-owned car carrier has a capacity of 6400 vehicles and operates under Mitsui O.S.K lines. It sails between Singapore and Adelaide with a stoppage in Fremantle.
On January 28, the vessel reached FREMANTLE, where the police and their dogs searched the 13 luxury buses and found 139 packages covered in plastic, hidden in video spaces of buses.
On February 3, two men aged 22 and 29 were arrested from a hotel in connection to the drug seizure. The accused made a court appearance yesterday in charge of possessing commercial-quality cocaine. If convicted, the maximum sentence they might get is life imprisonment.
According to AFP Detective Superintendent Melinda Adam, the seizure of 139 kg cocaine worth 29 million dollars has prevented approximately 695000 individual street deals, which would have caused severe harm to the community and economy.
