AFP – Australian police said yesterday they had busted a drug trafficking ring dubbed “The Commission” that brought more than a tonne of cocaine into the country in just a few months.
Six men aged between 25 and 34 were arrested in raids that turned up more than 30 kilogrammes (kg) of cocaine, including 20kg that had been stuffed in a bag and tossed over a fence.
Police alleged this was a mere fraction of the total supply, alleging the group had shifted 1.2 tonnes of cocaine between February and July this year.
Police claimed that the street value of the drugs was about USD1 billion. Organised crime detective Peter Faux said the group had “played the role of government, bank and economy to Sydney’s criminal underworld”, through an ambitious pace of cocaine imports.
“These arrests today will result in many criminals becoming unemployed as the large-scale drug supply that finances their crimes dries up,” said Faux. Photos showed police seizing plastic-wrapped bundles marked with four-leaf clovers, car logos and fighter jets.
The raids did not appear to be linked to the recent arrest of the alleged criminal mastermind behind the encrypted “Ghost” app.
In that case, a 32-year-old Australian man allegedly designed an encrypted channel for foreign criminals to arrange drug deals and contract killings.
