Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782087518179Screen Shot 2026-06-22 at 8.18.26 AM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Australian police seized a record 2.7 tons of cocaine hidden in plastic tubs buried underground on the outskirts of Sydney, detectives said Monday. <em>Aboodi Vesakaran, Unsplash/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>SYDNEY, Australia — Australian police seized a record 2.7 tons of cocaine hidden in plastic tubs buried underground on the outskirts of Sydney, detectives said Monday.</p><p>It was the largest cocaine haul in Australian history, a joint organized crime investigation force said in a statement.</p><p>Police allege a Sydney-based organized crime group arranged for a foreign vessel to offload the cocaine in northern Queensland before moving it to Sydney for distribution.</p><p>&quot;Investigations into the origin of the drugs remain ongoing, and we will work with our international and domestic law enforcement partners to identify the criminal syndicates,&quot;  Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said.</p><p>Police discovered the cocaine on Friday in plastic tubs buried in underground bunkers that were concealed by false floors, police said.</p><p>It was concealed at the back of a property in Londonderry, a semi-rural northwestern suburb of greater Sydney.</p><p>Officers arrested two men aged 21 and 25 who allegedly tried to run away.</p><p>Each of the men was charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported drug -- an offense that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.</p><p>Six others allegedly involved had already been arrested and charged with offenses related to illicit drugs possession, police said.</p><p>Cashed-up Australians are willing to pay some of the highest prices in the world for drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.</p><p>The black market has increasingly drawn the attention of sophisticated criminal networks from Southeast Asia to South America.</p><p>Cocaine-related deaths in Australia surged 28 percent to a record 141 in 2024, according to an annual report on overdoses released this month by the Penington Institute, which researches drug use.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cX8EbN8fUeQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>It was the largest cocaine haul in Australian history, a joint organized crime investigation force said in a statement.</p>

It was the largest cocaine haul in Australian history, a joint organized crime investigation force said in a statement.

Australian police seize record 2.7 tons of cocaine

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Australian police seize record 2.7 tons of cocaine

Agence France-Presse

Published June 22, 2026 08:19 AM PHT

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Updated June 22, 2026 08:20 AM PHT

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Agence France-Presse

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