A 63-year-old Melbourne man is due to appear in a Melbourne court today, charged over the alleged importation of 1.8 kilograms of cocaine into Melbourne hidden in gaming machine components.
Officers from Australian Border Force (ABF) identified the suspicious consignment of two gaming machines sent from Argentina to Melbourne on 26 October 2020, locating two concealed packages which returned a positive result for the presence of cocaine.
On November 10, Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigators swooped on a St Kilda address, arresting the man as he took delivery of the consignment.
Search warrants were executed at two properties in St Kilda, with $13,500 in cash and one kilogram of cannabis among the items seized by investigators.
AFP Commander, Investigations Southern Command, Todd Hunter said organised criminals had not stopped attempting to import harmful drugs into Australia.
“The greed of organised criminals means they will seek to prey on our community, fuelling the demand for these substances, causing drug–related crime and increasing the social costs that inevitably follow,” Commander Hunter said.
“This operation shows the excellent collaboration between Commonwealth agencies to stay a step ahead of organised crime. We won’t stop disrupting their criminal activities through the arrest and prosecution of those involved, to prevent more harm being inflicted on the Australian Community.”
ABF Port Operations South Commander, Craig Palmer, said the ABF has sophisticated methodologies and the resources to target imported goods and stop illegal drugs, regardless of how criminals attempt to conceal them.
“Working together, the ABF and the AFP have stopped these life-destroying drugs reaching our community,” Commander Palmer said.
“Criminals who attempt to import these types of substances should know, no matter where you hide it or how complex the concealment, the ABF and our partner agencies will find it.”
