Sydney – Police seized 70 kilograms of cocaine worth 17.5 million Australian dollars (12.6 million U.S. dollars) that was brought into the country on a yacht, in the biggest drug bust in Queensland State’s history.
Police said Tuesday that five people were arrested on the Gold Coast, including the yacht’s Estonian skipper, a British citizen and three Australians they met in the car park of an amusement park.
Reports said authorities had been tracking the yacht for several weeks, acting on information provided by the British National Crime Agency.
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The vessel is believed to have transported the drug from South America to Australia. It stopped briefly in Vanuatu and police tracked it to the Gold Coast on Monday.
The 43-year-old Estonian man, the lone person on the boat, met a 58-year-old British man and together they unloaded the illegal cargo about 50 kilometres south of Brisbane, police said.
They drove to the amusement park and met the Australian men before police swooped in. The suspects could face up to life imprisonment if convicted. (dpa/NAN)
