SYDNEY, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force have jointly seized 139 kg cocaine hidden inside a shipment of luxury buses and arrested two male offenders in Adelaide.

In a statement released on Monday, the policing authorities confirmed that the men, aged 22 and 19, were charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of cocaine.

Police commenced an investigation in January, as an alleged importation of cocaine was identified concealed within a consignment of 13 luxury buses on board an international cargo ship destined for Adelaide, via Perth.

After the ship docked in Fremantle Harbor in Perth, officers found a number of packages in four of the buses, which returned a positive result for cocaine.

The buses were then offloaded upon their arrival in Adelaide. On Saturday, the two men forced entry into the buses and were subsequently arrested.

Both were refused bail and remanded in custody, while they could face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.

"This seizure of the 139 kg of cocaine has stopped a potential 695,000 individual street deals from hitting our streets and causing significant harm to our communities and economy," said AFP Detective Superintendent Melinda Adam.

Adam also noted that the seized drugs have an estimated street value of 45 million Australian dollars (about 29.3 million U.S. dollars). Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)