An unassuming white van waited in a Maroubra public car park in the dead of the night. A 23-year-old man from Angus, in Sydney’s north-west, walked up to it, allegedly planning to collect millions of dollars worth of ketamine hidden under its seats.
Police say he was sent there by a 39-year-old Mascot man who was also allegedly behind the botched importation of 111 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $68.5 million.
The AFP say they seized ketamine inside this white van and replaced it with a harmless substance.
But there was no ketamine inside the van. Australian Federal Police officers had already intercepted it and two other vehicles being transported to Australia in a bulk cargo shipment. They allegedly found 30kg of ketamine worth an estimated $7.35 million, which they replaced with a harmless substance.
AFP officers arrested the 23-year-old as he opened the van, allegedly finding three phones in the vehicle he had driven to Maroubra.
Simultaneously, police carried out a search warrant at the Mascot home of his alleged drug boss. The officers arrested the man and seized several mobile phones, including at least one dedicated encrypted device, and $37,000 in cash.
They had been investigating the 39-year-old since last year and his alleged criminal syndicate since December 2022 under Operation Drake.
A 23-year-old man was arrested at a Maroubra public car park in March.
Operation Drake was formed after the AFP received intelligence about a criminal syndicate allegedly importing cocaine into Australia.
Soon enough, the AFP and NSW Police’s organised crime squad found the 39-year-old who was allegedly facilitating the massive drug imports.
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