Australian Police Make Largest Cocaine Seizure Ever on Sailboat

canberra - Australian police arrested eleven men and two minors attempting to smuggle cocaine into Australia via sea, with an estimated street value of 760 million Australian dollars. The operation was based on intelligence gathered on a motorcycle gang. The suspects tried to smuggle the drugs into the state of Queensland using a recreational sailboat, risking a lifelong prison sentence.

Australian police this weekend arrested eleven men and two minors who tried to smuggle cocaine into Australia by sea. The police estimate the street value of the drugs at 760 million Australian dollars (almost 470 million euros). Intelligence on a motorcycle gang led the police to the drugs. The suspects attempted to smuggle the drugs into the Australian state of Queensland using a recreational sailboat. They face a lifelong prison sentence.

In images shared by the Australian police, packages of cocaine are seen on board the sailboat. It is suspected that these were picked up at sea from a "mothership," although the exact location and method are not clear.

During an international collaboration involving 62 countries in October and November, a total of 225,000 kilograms of cocaine was seized worldwide. Operation Orion, as the mission was called, also revealed a "new smuggling route" involving submarines between Colombia and Australia.

It is lucrative for smugglers to ship drugs to Australia, as consumers there pay the highest prices for drugs anywhere in the world, Australian media report.