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Nine men have been charged and are accused of conspiring to import tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine before distributing the drugs across Australia using trucking connections.<\/p>\n
A 10-month investigation by Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, Australian Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission resulted in the arrests of eight men in Victoria and one in Sydney.<\/p>\n
![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/e9202272bc656e707f990cde4a25341a1c3ddfc9.jpeg\")
Police arrest one of the nine men alleged to have conspired in the drug trafficking plot.<\/p>\n
The men, aged between 31 and 72, have been charged with offences relating to drug trafficking and seven of them face the possibility of life in prison if convicted.<\/p>\n
Police say they were first alerted to the alleged syndicate when four crew members were rescued from a commercial trawler which sank off the Victorian coast.<\/p>\n
The crew\u2019s movements were monitored after police became suspicious about why they had travelled out to sea in bad weather and were without the usual commercial fishing equipment.<\/p>\n
It is alleged the group tried to travel into Bass Strait multiple times to a drop zone where they would have received significant quantities of drugs from a \u201cmother ship\u201d travelling through Australian waters.<\/p>\n
![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99782b4c78c95840698e1f9f16125c53b8bcf2b4.jpeg\")
Police say they became aware of the alleged trafficking plot after a group were rescued at sea.<\/p>\n
Police say these attempts were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Four of the men have also been charged in relation to the separate seizure of 30 kilograms of methamphetamine in Perth in August and 41 kilograms of cocaine in regional Victoria days later.<\/p>\n
It is alleged the syndicate was using connections in the trucking industry to move the drugs between states.<\/p>\n AFP Detective Superintendent Ray Imbriano said organised crime groups were sending their business to Australia because of the \u201cinsatiable\u201d demand for illicit drugs and a willingness by the community to pay top dollar for them.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are not harmless substances, and apart from the health consequences, drug importations fuel violence between rival gangs in our suburbs,\u201d Imbriano said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis violence too often leaves innocent Australians caught in the crosshairs.\u201d<\/p>\n AAP<\/p>\n Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts<\/a> on email or turn on notifications in the app.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8ce4b03087bdf37fb4f569be30ae9be7a5ab28e4.jpeg\")
Police with one of the arrested men.Related Article![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775284931_735_f4c191d7d399eeffa88763205a2e160bc5d3b591405c2f84199f10b4cae5dd42.gif\")
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