A shipment of 800 kilos of cocaine, worth more than 200 million dollars, seized in Australia by the police of that country, who found it aboard a cargo ship that passed port of Santa Fe in San Lorenzo, near the city of Rosario, which led to the beginning of a investigation in which the Argentine Customs and the Narcocriminal Prosecutor’s Office (Procunar) intervened.
According to the first investigative tasks, the investigations in Argentina are ongoing the assumption which focuses on The drugs could have been transported across the ocean by a smaller vessel. by ropes and “drop on/drop off” mode.
Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) reported on their official site that the cargo was discovered on May 25, after the authorities of that country received data indicating that the drugs would be thrown into the sea from a cargo ship to be collected.
But one day before, on the 24th, by chance, the members of Western Australian Police (WAPF) and on Volunteer in Marine Rescue They helped the crew of a 10-meter cruise ship, called No Fixed Address, which called for help near Rottnest Island, about 20 kilometers off the coast of the city of Perth, allegedly due to engine problems. .
The authorities reported that on board the ship were three people who appeared to have little experience in navigation, who, it was established, bought the ship with the money the day before the start of the voyage, which aroused suspicion. .
Shortly after that, the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the AFP began investigating the bulk cargo ships in the area, along with another vessel, and thus identified a bulk cargo ship, the Merchant Vessel ST Pinot, which matches the description obtained during the investigation of the drug smuggling operation that will take place.
ABF officials determined that The ship traveled from South America and they boarded it to search it and interview the crew.
Once transferred to Fremantle harbour, south of Perth, found the troops Suspicious packages are submerged in ballast tanks filled with water.
Through an operation conducted by Australian Navy divers, they were found in that tank 29 large packages wrapped in blue plastic containing small packages inside of a kilo of cocaine, through a total of 800 kilos.
Within the framework of the investigation, the investigators determined that the ship containing drugs passed through the port of Santa Fe in San Lorenzo, so a complaint was made from the Argentine Customs where Procunar intervened to start a investigation. to establish where the cocaine was disposed of.
Customs sources indicated to Télam that The ship passed Montevideo before San Lorenzo and then it hit kilometer 171 in the Common Zone, near La Plata; and that it is loaded with soybeans in the warehouse area.
In turn, the Australian police indicated that, if it had reached the streets of that country, the seized drugs would have been sold for an estimated amount of 212 million dollars.
The authorities also reported that after discovering the drugs, the three men on the cruise, ages 21, 25 and 29, the was arrested on Wednesday, May 31 last, two of them in Perth and the third, Lithuanian, in Sydney, when trying to board a flight abroad.
The three are facing charges for drug trafficking crime, where they may be sentenced to a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.
about the operation HE AFP Deputy Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said: “The seizure demonstrates the importance of law enforcement collaboration – the AFP works tirelessly with partners to disrupt organized crime attempts to import large quantities of illicit drugs into Australia and profit at the expense in the community. .”
“The illicit drug supply chain is fraught with violence and when this amount of cocaine reaches the streets of Australia it spreads to our surrounding areas, fueling more violence, crime and drug addiction,” he added.
Study in Puerto San Lorenzo
For his part, the process Arranged a series of tasks among them, the analysis of film records at the San Lorenzo terminal during the stay of the ship, which arrived there on April 9 at 8:45 in the evening and on the 22nd of that month it left for Australia.
In a press release issued this afternoon, AFIP-Customs shows that, according to the management of Terminal Renova the ship ““It is subject to an inspection of the handle and the corresponding anchoring is done.” and that “from the first analysis of cameras undetectable, reliability, maneuvers consistent with the fact that contamination occurred there.
“However, it continues analysis with the Argentine Naval Prefecture looking for new security cameras that can prove or prevent the possibility of contamination made in or near the stash area of the Common Zone”, he clarified.
At the same time, he pointed out that “if it is not possible to know that the drugs were imposed on the ports where the ship docked, the hypothesis that the substance found may have been imposed on the ship by some small maritime vessel area.” during or after the last fuel loading activity, using the same mode as attempted removal at the destination, under drop-on/drop-off mode.
And in that sense he added that the images given to Homeland Security Investigations who is cooperating with the investigation,” ropes can be seen tied to the bags which, according to the antecedents, will give strength” to the line of investigation.
