Picture: Australian Federal Police.

The joint Australian Federal Police and China National Narcotics Control Commission operation began earlier this month, following intelligence generated by the joint Australian – Chinese law enforcement partnership known as Taskforce Blaze.

As a result of the intelligence, a vessel of interest was identified off the coast of NSW earlier last week. The vessel was monitored by the Australian Border Force (ABF) with the support of the ABF’s Maritime Border Command (MBC) —a multi-agency task force responsible for leading Australia’s civil maritime security operations.

In the early hours of last Friday morning (11 November 2016), a smaller tender launched from this vessel with three men onboard. With the assistance of the NSW Police Force Marine Area Command, the AFP monitored its arrival at Palm Beach on Sydney’s northern beaches, where it was met by another two male persons.

All five men were arrested and a search warrant was executed. Three barrels were located on board containing a substance believed to be liquid methamphetamine, with a total volume of approximately 90 litres.

A seizure of this amount has an estimated street value of $54 million. Further forensic testing will be conducted to determine the exact weight and purity of the substance.

The men arrested include a 47-year-old, a 49-year-old, and a 58-year-old from China. A 29-year-old from New Zealand and a 56-year-old from Taiwan were arrested as they met the vessel onshore.

All five appeared before Sydney’s Central Local Court on Friday (11 November 2016), charged with the importation and possession of a commercial quantity of a border controlled drugs. Bail was refused for all five men.

Following these arrests, on Sunday morning (13 November 2016) HMAS Newcastle, operating under the control of the MBC, intercepted the vessel off the coast of Hervey Bay, Queensland.

The three-member crew was detained and transferred to HMAS Newcastle, comprising a 23-year-old, a 51-year-old, and a 56-year-old from China. All three were conveyed to Sydney and were arrested by the AFP on 16 November 2016 and a search warrant executed on the vessel.

Two of the crew appeared before Sydney’s Central Local Court on Wednesday (16 November 2016) and the third appeared this morning, charged with aiding and abetting the importation of a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug. Bail was refused for all three crew members.

AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Sheehan, National Manager Crime Operations, said the seizure demonstrates the effectiveness of cooperation with Australia’s Chinese partners, which provided information to begin this operation.

“It’s been one year since the inception of Taskforce Blaze, and this operation is a testament to the strength of the working relationships we have with our law enforcement partners in China,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Sheehan said.

“Together we will continue to collate and share intelligence about drug syndicates targeting methamphetamine imports into Australia.”

Director Deng, Director of Guangdong Provincial Narcotics Control Bureau and Chinese officer in charge of the Command Center of Taskforce Blaze, said, “This successful operation again shows how law enforcement agencies from China and Australia working shoulder to shoulder with strong determination to combat multinational drug crimes, can have a strong impact on organised crime groups.”

ABF Regional Commander NSW, Tim Fitzgerald, said this outcome was testament to the success of continued cooperation among domestic and international law enforcement agencies.

“By sharing intelligence and capabilities with our partners, we continue to target, detect and seize illicit drugs at our border before they reach vulnerable Australians,” Regional Commander Fitzgerald said.

Commander MBC, Rear Admiral Peter Laver, also praised the close collaboration between Australian and Chinese law enforcement agencies and the Australian Defence Force which was critical to the success of this operation.

”MBC is committed to working with Australian law enforcement agencies and like-minded international partners to respond to illegal activity in Australia’s maritime domain,” Rear Admiral Laver said.