Police seize 1,100 kg of cocaine worth £212m in 'Australia's biggest ever drugs bust'

Police seized 1,100 kg of cocaine worth £212 million on Christmas Day in what they called the biggest cocaine bust in Australia’s history.

Officers burst onto a fishing boat following a two-and-a-half year investigation into suspected drug trafficking by commercial fishermen in Sydney.

Fifteen men aged from 29 to 63 were charged with serious drugs crimes following the probe, which began in July 2014.

During the night of Christmas Day this year, police intercepted a fishing boat they had been monitoring in Sydney and found 500kg of cocaine and three men who they arrested.

Police found 600kg of cocaine in Tahiti which was ready to be imported into Australia.

They arrested a further dozen men and charged them all with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs is life imprisonment, Australian Federal Police said.

The acting assistant commissioner for AFP, Chris Sheehan, said: “This has been a long-running joint investigation, and I want to thank our people and our partners for their tenacity and dedication.

“We’ve stopped around a tonne of cocaine and a commercial quantity of heroin from reaching Australian shores.

“Additionally, we’ve prevented future importations by apprehending 15 men for their alleged involvement in the criminal syndicate responsible for this attempted importation.”