In a truly collaborative interagency operation, officers from across the Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police, Australian Border Force and New South Wales Police investigators formed Taskforce Sentry which ultimately charged three men in October when cocaine was allegedly found concealed inside a PlayStation 5 console.
Australian Border Force officers identified a suspicious consignment that had been sent from Portugal to Sydney. Upon further examination of the console, officers found a white powder substance which tested to be cocaine.
Police tracked the consignment which they replaced with a replica, destined for an address in Tweed Heads in northern New South Wales. There it was collected by a 48-year-old man.
Following their arrest on October 12, a 48-year-old Tweed Heads South man and a 32-year-old Palm Beach man both appeared at Southport Magistrates Court today (November 1, 2021), after being charged with attempting to possess a marketable quantity of border-controlled drugs.
A third male was also charged in connection, the 35-year-old Burleigh Heads man will face court on November 4.
The intercepted cocaine has an estimated street value of over $340,000 Australian dollars, it’s more than six times the average Australian annual income.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Ben Moses said the operation showed how Taskforce Sentry brought together Commonwealth agencies with state police to dismantle criminal networks.
“Our goal is to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs from overseas and onto Australian streets,” Detective Acting Superintendent Moses said, adding, “Illicit drugs continue to enrich organised crime, enabling them to buy more guns, fueling more violence and making our communities less safe.”
Taskforce Sentry comprises of members from the Australian Federal Police, the Queensland Police Service’s Crime and Intelligence Command. As well as the Australian Border Force and the Department of Home Affairs, collaborating to gather intelligence, implement investigative strategies and take action against syndicates smuggling and distributing illicit items including through postal and cargo streams.
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