Australia police seize $500m of cocaine after boat breaks down

Australian Police have seized 2.3 tonnes of cocaine from a broken-down boat off the coast of Queensland, authorities said on Monday.

Eleven men and two juveniles were arrested, including the vessel’s crew and others waiting on the shore to collect the illegal shipment.

The drugs had an estimated street value of A$760m ($490m; £388m), with the potential to be distributed across 11.7 million separate street deals – making it the largest cocaine bust in Australian history.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) alleged one of the men arrested on Saturday night was vice-president of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle club’s Brisbane chapter.

Biker gangs are notorious in Australia for their drug violence, with more than 1,000 shootings recorded since the 1980s.

This recent cocaine bust came as part of a wider investigation into the Comanchero gang, codenamed Operation Tyrrendor, which began last month.

Authorities said they received intelligence suggesting a criminal syndicate with links to the gang was planning to import illegal drugs into Australia.

This comes after reports last week that the Colombian navy intercepted a semi-submersible carrying cocaine to Australia.

Investigators told reporters in Brisbane the record cocaine shipment had come from an unidentified South American country.

The AFP worked with the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and the Australian Border Force (ABF) to track a fishing boat, recently purchased by a 35-year-old man.

On Saturday night, it was being used transport the cocaine delivery from a larger mothership to the Queensland coast when it suffered a mechanical fault, police said.

Stranded about 18km from the north-eastern tip of K’gari, it was intercepted by the AFP and QPS, who found 51 bales tied with rope netting.

Each bale contained 40kg of cocaine, totalling 2.34 tonnes.

Two men were arrested on the boat and two others were arrested on the coast while waiting for the shipment.

A further three arrests were made at a nearby fast-food restaurant, with five others at a traffic stop.

The final arrest was made in Brisbane after the AFP and QPS executed a search warrant.

All 11 men and two juveniles were were charged with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of cocaine, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.