The death of a diver and the discovery of more than $20 million of cocaine are being investigated by Organised Crime Squad Detectives in North Queensland. An arrest was made as a man was allegedly trying to flee the country.
54 kilograms of cocaine and the body of a diver were located at the Port of Newcastle around 9:30am on Monday 9th May prompting the establishment of Strike Force Groove, which was put together by Organised Crime Squad detectives.
The 62-year-old man who was taken into custody by Queensland Police and the Australian Federal Police was attempting to board a plane to Singapore at about 5:30pm.
He was taken to Cairns Watch House and charged with Import Large Commercial Quantity of Border Controlled Drug and Large Drug Supply.
Organised Crime Squad detectives will now seek the man’s extradition to NSW when he appears at Cairns Magistrates Court today.
The investigations have been done with cooperation between Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Border Force (ABF), Northern Territory Police (NTPOL), and Queensland Police (QPOL).
Offshore inquiries continue into the matter, led by AFP.
Anybody with information that might assist Strike Force Groove investigators is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au
All information is treated with strict confidence. The public is being reminded not to report information to NSW Police social media pages.
