A Sydney man is expected to appear in Perth Magistrates Court today (Saturday, 13 December, 2025) charged over his alleged involvement in a plot to import and distribute more than 525kg of cocaine into Australia.
He is the fifth man to be charged as part of the Western Australia Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (WA JOCTF) investigation, since packages of drugs were found in the ocean off the WA coast last month (November, 2025).
WA JOCTF members and New South Wales Police Force officers arrested the man, 22, at a home in Bidwill, Sydney, on Thursday (11 December).
He appeared in Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney yesterday (12 December, 2025) where the AFP applied to extradite him to WA.
The extradition request was granted, and the man will appear in court in Perth today on one count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.
Police will allege the man travelled to Perth in late October (2025) and was part of a group that travelled out to sea at various times in early November to try to retrieve cocaine from the water.
He then flew back to Sydney on 4 November. On 13 November, 2025, a Perth Magistrate issued a warrant for his arrest.
A WA JOCTF investigation into suspicious activity by an international ship was already under way when members of the public found the drugs tied to flotation drums about 30km off the coast of Lancelin, north of Perth, on 6 November.
The WA JOCTF will allege the drugs were dropped into the ocean from an international livestock carrier as it travelled towards Fremantle Harbour.
The vessel's chief officer - a 46-year-old Croatian national - has been charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.
A Perth man, 52, and two Sydney men, aged 19 and 36, have also been charged in connection with the thwarted import.
The 52-year-old was charged with one count of attempt to possess a prohibited drug, contrary to section 6(1)(a) of the Misuse of Drugs Act (WA).
The Sydney men, aged 19 and 36, have each been charged with one count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code (Cth).
If not intercepted by authorities, 525kg of cocaine could have been distributed as about 2.6 million individual street deals and put an estimated $170 million* into the pockets of the criminals involved.
WA JOCTF Detective Inspector Ben Moltran said the WA JOCTF had been working tirelessly to track down the 22-year-old man and was very appreciative of the support provided by NSW Police to locate him.
"Police and intelligence agencies across Australia work together to protect the community from the scourge of illicit drugs and to disrupt the activities of any organised crime groups that try to profit at the community's expense," Det Insp Moltran said.
"NSW Police's local intelligence and assistance were invaluable for ensuring we could take this man into custody without incident and put him before the courts.
"Illicit importations of drugs and other commodities threaten Australia's national security and cause widespread harm that is felt across the economy, health systems and in community safety.
"Our investigation remains ongoing into anyone involved in this importation."
Further arrests have not been ruled out.
The WA JOCTF combines the resources and capabilities of the AFP, Western Australia Police Force (WAPF), Australian Border Force (ABF), the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and AUSTRAC, to target serious organised criminals causing harm in WA and across Australia.
*Source of drug valuation - the ACIC Illicit drug calculator
