Four men, including the chief officer of a livestock carrier, have been charged over their alleged roles in an organised crime plot to import more than 525kg of cocaine, after packages of the drug were found floating in the ocean off Western Australia.
A 52-year-old Perth man, two Sydney men, aged 19 and 36, and the 46-year-old Croatian chief officer have been charged in connection with the thwarted import.
The Croatian national chief officer was remanded in custody to next appear in Perth Magistrates Court on January 23, 2026. The maximum penalty for attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug is life imprisonment.
Police will allege all three men (the Perth man and the two Sydney men) made attempts at various times to retrieve the cocaine from the ocean after launching boats from Two Rocks boat ramp.
A Western Australia Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (WA JOCTF) investigation into suspicious activity by a vessel was already under way when members of the public alerted police on November 6 after finding large packages tied to flotation drums about 30km offshore.
Later that day, Western Australia Police Force (WAPF) and AFP officers collected the bundles off the coast of Lancelin, about 125km north of Perth, with the seizure estimated to contain about 525kg of cocaine.
Forensic specialists are examining the seized drugs to determine the exact weight and purity, but it is estimated this shipment could have been distributed as more than 2.6 million individual street deals with a street value of more than $170m.
The WA JOCTF will allege the drugs were dropped into the ocean from an international livestock carrier on its way to Fremantle Harbour.
On November 7, 2025, police charged the vessel’s chief officer with attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
During a search of the ship, JOCTF investigators located a blue drum and ropes allegedly similar to those found with the drugs. It will also be alleged examination of the vessel identified that rails had been removed and reinstalled without welding work permits submitted and that a CCTV camera had been covered while the drugs were allegedly offloaded from the ship.
On November 3, emergency services were called about a vessel in distress off the coast of Guilderton.
Two Sydney men were found on a boat that was taking on water and were brought safely to shore without injury.
Police began investigating after details of their trip raised suspicions. Those inquiries led to the identification of a Perth man.
The 52-year-old was charged in Perth on November 6 with one count of attempt to possess a prohibited drug.
The 19-year-old Sydney man was arrested in Sydney on November 18 and was extradited to WA.
He appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on November 20, 2025, charged with one count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug, namely cocaine. The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.
The 36-year-old Sydney man was arrested in Sydney on November 20, 2025. He appeared in court in NSW on November 21 and was also extradited to WA. He has also been charged with one count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug.
Investigations remain ongoing into the organised crime syndicate behind the plot and the origin of the cocaine, with more arrests expected.
“There is violence and exploitation throughout the illicit drug supply chain and drug use puts immense pressure on our health systems – in 2022-23 there were 985 cocaine-related hospitalisations nationally, more than two each day on average,” said Pryce Scanlan, Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner.
“Our officers continually monitor international vessels and their crews entering Australia, looking for any anomalies or potential trusted insider threat and will not hesitate to act with our partners when suspicious activity is uncovered, including by searching vessels as they arrive into ports,” added Linda Jose, Australian Border Force acting commander.
