A man has been sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for his role in a failed 2022 plot to import and distribute 56kg of cocaine from Switzerland, hidden inside four high-performance car wheels.
The Perth District Court sentenced the Balcatta man, 62, yesterday (22 September, 2025). He was ordered to serve a non-parole period of five years and six months.
He is the fifth and final person jailed for the failed import following sentencings earlier this year of a married couple and a Sydney father and son.
The man was found guilty in November, 2024, after a four-week jury trial, of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of unlawfully imported cocaine, contrary to section 307.5(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
He had worked with the married couple to remove the drugs from the wheels for collection by the Sydney father and son.
Authorities launched Operation Dommeldange in June, 2022, when Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at the Perth cargo facility found packages of white powder stuffed behind the rims of four performance wheels.
The consignment was transferred to the AFP and forensic specialists established there were 56 packages of white powder, which contained 37.67kg of cocaine.
The drugs were replaced with an inert substance before the tyres were delivered to a Nollamara home on 5 July, 2022.
The next day the Balcatta man and the married couple used a variety of tools and knives to cut apart the car tyres and access the black plastic-wrapped packages inside.
The father and son flew in from Sydney that week, collected the packages from the Nollamara home and then spent time at a hotel and a shopping centre. They opened at least one of the plastic-wrapped blocks before dumping them all in a skip bin outside the shopping centre.
The AFP, with the assistance of ABF, arrested the pair nearby.
The man and the married couple were also charged the same day.
AFP Inspector Chris Colley said anyone involved in the illicit drug trade contributed to the harm and exploitation of the community.
"Drug traffickers don't care about the pain and suffering they inflict on members of the public, or their loved ones, they are motivated by greed," Insp Colley said.
"The people involved in this incident were sentenced to a combined total of over 45 years in custody for their roles in trying to smuggle this abhorrent substance into our communities.
"The AFP remains committed to working closely alongside the ABF and other partners to ensure criminal syndicates cannot profit at the expense of Australians."
Australian Border Force Superintendent James Payne said the sentencing of the fifth and final person involved in this failed attempt to import cocaine into Australia was a fitting end to a successful joint agency operation.
"These criminals seek to profit from the misery of others but now they are facing the consequences of their actions," Supt Payne said.
