The joint investigation has revealed criminal syndicates are using legitimate businesses importing goods via Sydney from or through Panama to smuggle cocaine.
The top contributors to drug seizures bound for Australia in the past financial year were Myanmar with 20,561kg, Fiji with 4,270kg, Colombia with 4,071kg, and Mexico with 3,957kg.
Two ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed by firing squad in 2015, sparking diplomatic tensions between Australia and Indonesia.
“This was a brazen attempt to smuggle a substantial quantity of cocaine into Australia, which could have resulted in untold damage had it reached our community.”
The crash killed 42-year-old mother Nancy Lefrançois and her 11-year-old son Loïc Chevalier, who were travelling in a passenger vehicle struck in the collision.
