Australian Police Seize 2.7 Tonnes of Cocaine in Record Sydney Bust

Australian police seized 2.7 metric tons of cocaine from a semi-rural property in the Sydney suburb of Londonderry on June 19. The drugs were hidden in plastic tubs inside underground bunkers beneath three shipping containers with false floors. Officials valued the haul at A$816 million.

Sydney men aged 21 and 25 were arrested at the site after allegedly trying to run from officers. They were charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an illicit drug. The men appeared before a New South Wales local court on June 20 and were remanded in custody. Their next court date is August 13 at Penrith local court.

The cocaine had been landed by boat at Midge Point on Queensland's Whitsunday Coast before being transported 1,800 kilometers by road to Londonderry. Police suspect the shipment came from the same vessel linked to an earlier 178-kilogram cocaine seizure in Queensland and a 142-kilogram methamphetamine seizure.

Authorities identified the suspected mother ship as the Belize-flagged MV Wealth, which has been detained in the Solomon Islands.

The seizure formed part of Operation Minjiang, a joint effort by the Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police, and the Australian Border Force. The operation began after 40 kilograms of cocaine were found in the water off a Midge Point boat ramp. The previous national record was 2.34 metric tons seized from a fishing boat near K'gari in 2024.