Things go badly for coke importer

Vanuatu sting nets 750kg

POLICE say the 750kg of cocaine seized from a Colombian crime syndicate in Vanuatu this week was bound for Australia and had the potential to reap $370 million from more than 750,000 deals.

Queensland ports were the most likely destination for the record haul, which came as part of Operation Basco – a joint operation between the Australia Federal Police, Australian Customs and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Operation Basco targeted a yacht, known as the Raj, docked in Port Vila, Vanuatu, and was launched last month on the strength of intelligence gathered in Project Cringle – a three-year collaboration between the multiple agencies with South Pacific nations to investigate organised crime syndicates using yachts and similar vessels travelling through the region with cocaine shipments bound for Australia.

Customs concealment experts and agents from the AFP and DEA travelled to Vanuatu on Monday to assist in the extensive examination of the Raj after Vanuatu police seized and began searching the vessel.

Officers discovered threequarters of a tonne of cocaine hidden in the lower engine compartments and around the keel area of the hull. The investigation was continuing and no arrests had been made.

Two tonnes of cocaine destined for Australia has been seized from five vessels since 2010 as a part of Project Cringle, which has also relied on the help of authorities in Tonga, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

AFP assistant commissioner Ramzi Jabbour said the operation again demonstrated the power of joint law enforcement efforts.

PHOTO: AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE INTERCEPTED: An AFP officer weighs a package of cocaine found on board a yacht (left) in Port Vila in Vanuatu. The haul had an estimated street value of $370 million.