A 62-year-old man was arrested and charged over the stash. Border Force officers were first alerted to the delivery when a 550kg shipment of latex pillows arrived in Fremantle on a container ship on December 17. It was a 30-plus degree summer day and, although a cyclone was gravitating towards Western Australia's northern coast, not a gust of wind was blowing at the strip. The plane that spurred the downfall of one of Australia's largest drug syndicates was sold at auction in May. Cops bust alleged Vietnamese drug trafficking syndicate Credit:Nine News. "Turn the engine off and get out of the aircraft.". Stay on top of latest drug news stories and find out what just happened, what is going on with drug. Operation Beech: Footage of the moment police storm beach, dump fake Police watch as offenders on board a boat stashed with drugs tows a smaller boat. A man is arrested by WA Police as part of a seizure of drugs being imported into Australia. Midland Detectives are investigating an attempted aggravated armed robbery that occurred on Sunday 23 April 2023, in Beechboro. The next few months after the bust, investigators from the Australian Crime Commission infiltrated international money-laundering streams and exposed Ayik's drug empire. 'Life will never be the same': MasterChef stars post tributes to Jock, Fatal flaw in escape from infamous island prison, Push to extend 'really popular' $100 voucher for NSW parents, Man denied bail after allegedly stealing Nick Kyrgios' Tesla, holding mum at gunpoint. Cool Runnings had issues with steering and washed ashore south of Moore River. 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September 14, 2021 - 7:32PM NCA NewsWire Police have arrested 19 people and seized $7 million in cash in a massive drug sting in Western Australia. 7NEWS Perth - DRUG BUST Tonight in 7 News at 6, a major - Facebook The alleged ringleader, known as "The Kid", is one of six organised crime bosses being targeted by WA Police. Police have released CCTV vision in an appeal for information after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted at a bus stop. They had taken 15 vacuum-sealed bags filled with 30,000 MDMA tablets and more than 20 plastic bags containing almost 22 kilograms of methylamphetamine off the streets and, although they did not know it at the time, they had kick-started one of the largest law enforcement operations in Australian history. The enormous volume represents half of Australia's annual consumption of the drug, and has an estimated street value of $1 billion. Ellenbrook drug bust: Three people charged after 7.3kg of cannabis But until now, its role in one of the biggest law enforcement operations in Australian history has remained a mystery. WIN a share of $75,000 in cash prizes with the worlds richest short story competition. We had members from New South Wales, Northern Territory and one from the United States and we will allege that they were here to retrieve that 2.4 tonnes of cocaine and distribute it amongst our country. On the morning of December 29, two men arrived to allegedly pick up the boxes of pillows and take them back to a house in Maddington. A police siren is used to wake occupants as around 10 officers file inside. It was a sweet deal for somebody living off the generosity of friends and family. Western Australian Police seized a small vessel on 28 December, with intelligence suggesting that alleged members of the syndicate were unaware and still expecting to receive the shipment. Best Perth pubs for pre-footy beers or a cheeky cocktail, West Australian Newspapers Limited 2023. March 4, 2023 9.59am Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The biggest drug bust in Australian history has been pulled off by WA Police after an undercover operation led to the seizure of 2.4 tonnes of cocaine worth about $1 billion dollars. A bankrupt and former nightclub bouncer from Bankstown well into his 30s, Santos had spent a few months before the bust flying passengers across the country in his Aztec in a bid to meet the minimum flying hours required to obtain a commercial pilot's licence. 17 people have been charged, over 20 million dollars of assets have been seized. "Someone told me there was a story behind it, and then I sort of had an idea that that was the one that I vaguely remembered.". Perth drug busts: Police seize $3 million in property, drugs, cash, and Who is Vanessa Hudson? queensland 12:17pm Apr 29, 2023 120kg of cocaine found inside shipping container by ABF A total of 2.4 tonnes of cocaine was stopped from entering our shores and 12 people were arrested in the largest bust in Australian history. Youve got young detectives sitting in Perth, Western Australia, and all of a sudden theyre doing a joint international operation with the DEA, he said. Every single day someone chooses to traffick drugs they are engaging in a dangerous game of roulette. Sooner or later, they will receive a knock on the door from police and at this point, the realisation quickly dawns that they have made a decision that has ruined their life. READ MORE COMMENTS FROM THE POLICE COMMISSIONER ON THE WEST AUSTRALIAN. It was March 5, 2008. This comp is for you! The Aztec landed at Jandakot Airport just before 4pm. Micalizzi, who sat down at the back of the six seater, slept most of the time, Santos says, and spoke to him only to ask when they would arrive. So we waited and we watched, Blanch said. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Mohammed Charif Oueida caught up in huge drug bust as WA police seize 33kg of methamphetamine at border, Keep up with the latest ASX and business news. Even after the arrests, police say the syndicate still believed the cocaine was available to buy and on 9 January officers raided a property at Carlisle in Perth and arrested a 28-year-old New South Wales man. Alleged Barkly region drug syndicate under surveillance for months Dozens of charges were laid in the wake of a recent three-day blitz, looking to pick apart Perth's illicit drug trade which is operating on encrypted messaging apps including Telegram. Kewdale Murder Charge Perth RBT and Booze Bus locations - Facebook "Joseph Micalizzi," he said, a large sports bag hanging from his shoulder. A total of 2.4 tonnes of cocaine worth about $1 billion was prevented from reaching WA shores thanks to a secret high-risk operation involving WA Polices new transnational serious and organised crime squad and agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Organised crime squad detectives charged two men aged 44 and another aged 38 in connection with cash and drugs. Arrests such as these should serve as a stark reminder of the life changing repercussions associated with drug dealing, Caulfield Divisional Response Unit (DRU) Acting Detective Sergeant Wes Yarnton said. Sign up for Guardian Australias free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup. Theres only so much that will be gained by looking at the mules and the low-level individuals that are, I would say, a dime a dozen, he said. In a joint collaboration with the US, dubbed "Operation Beech", 2.4 tonnes of cocaine - with alleged links to a Mexican drug cartel - was seized by officers after it had travelled from South America. The moment a $100 million dollar meth deal came unstuck in Australia Peta Rasdien. Sign up to Guardian Australia's Morning Mail, Our Australian morning briefing email breaks down the key national and international stories of the day and why they matter. 266266 Pilots wondered why it sat there, rusting, and told tall stories about where it came from. Police were able to use fake replicas of the drugs to trick alleged suspects into thinking the cocaine had not been compromised on its journey from South America. He said catching those that dispensed of the drugs was only part of the ongoing war against drug distribution in the country. Tue, 14 February 2023 9:20PM A Perth DJ and self-proclaimed "upcoming producer" is among five people facing serious charges after detectives seized more than 12kg of drugs in Perth's north-eastern suburbs. exclusive Three men charged over alleged plot to bring $100m worth of meth into WA Daryna Zadvirna The West Australian Tue, 4 January 2022 10:00AM The picture above shows the gripping moment in a suburb south-east of Perth when an alleged highly planned importation of 99kg of meth came to a dramatic end. The operation took place over three states, including WA and netted more than 20 kilograms of cannabis and 16 kilograms of methylamphetamine. AFP and ABF officers swooped on the trio as they left the site in a white van, resulting in a dramatic collision after the men allegedly tried to evade police. Men to be charged over 188kg cocaine bust | 7NEWS Cannabis seized after drug bust in Perth's north-east The twin-engine plane, which miraculously survived a cyclone in Darwin in 1974, had been used to operate a freight charter service in Central Queensland and sight-seeing tours over the Great Barrier Reef until 1990. , updated But during his trial in the WA District Court, Judge Christopher Stevenson said the duo had played a "dangerous game of Russian Roulette" trying to incriminate each other, "the last refuge of a desperate man to avoid any criminal liability". More than a decade later after the sting, drugs continue to slip across Australia's borders from overseas, as the nation's drug users consume more than four tonnes of cocaine every year. A total of 2.4 tonnes of cocaine was stopped from entering our shores and 12 people were arrested in the largest bust in Australian history. A police investigation would later reveal Micalizzi was a drug runner for the Comancheros, a middleman in an international drug syndicate led by Turkish-Australian gym junkie Hakan Ayik. WA Police target drug dealers using encrypted messaging apps Australian Federal Police have charged four people after seizing eight kilograms of methamphetamine during an investigation into a suspected Vietnamese drug trafficking syndicate in Perth. Pic: Western Australia Police, Money seized from a vehicle on the Great Eastern highway. I say that its a magnificent effort to defend our shores, to defend our country from the threat of organised crime, Blanch said. He had done the trip a handful of times before. Joseph Davids, 32, Darren Dexter Fletcher, 35, and Reece Raymond Neil OConnor, 31, likely didn't learn the truth until they were hauled before court the next day.