SYDNEY (AP) — Three Sydney dockworkers have been charged over a massive shipment of cocaine in a law enforcement investigation into trusted insiders importing illicit drugs into Australia, authorities said on Tuesday.
The three, aged 25, 38 and 42, appeared in a Sydney court on Monday charged over 506 kilograms (1,116 pounds) of cocaine found hidden behind a false wall in a shipping container on the Sydney waterfront on the weekend, Australian Federal Police said in a statement. The cocaine had a street value of more than 164 million Australian dollars ($107 million).
The older two men were forklift drivers employed by a global shipping and logistics company that authorities have not named.
Police also found AU$330,000 ($216,240) cash which they allege is the proceeds of crime.
All three face potential life sentences if convicted.
The 42-year-old man was released on bail but the others were remanded in custody. They will all appear in court next on Oct. 29.
The shipping container was sent from Europe, but the source of the cocaine remained under investigation, according to police.
The men were arrested by the Multi Agency Strike Team. The team is made up of state and federal agencies who target “trusted insiders” within supply chains that allow organized crime groups to smuggle illicit drugs into Australia.
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