Gold Coast pair charged after cocaine discovered in stone benchtop

Samantha Lock |

A man and a woman are accused of attempting to import $12 million of drugs into Australia.
A man and a woman are accused of attempting to import $12 million of drugs into Australia.

Two people are accused of being part of an international drug syndicate that attempted to imported six kilograms of ice and cocaine, concealed inside machinery and a stone benchtop.

The shipments were seized by US authorities in September 2021, prompting an 18-month investigation by Australian state and federal police.

The meth was allegedly hidden inside machinery while the cocaine was concealed within a benchtop.

The drugs had a estimated street value of $12.6 million.

A 38-year-old man was arrested during a vehicle stop on the Gold Coast on Tuesday and a 37-year-old woman was arrested a short time later, after police and strike force detectives raided a nearby property and seized numerous items.

Both were taken to Southport Magistrates Court, where drug squad detectives applied for and were granted their extradition to NSW.

The man has been charged with two counts of attempting to import a commercial quantity of border controlled drug, directing activities of criminal group and dealing with proceeds of crime.

The woman was charged with participating in a criminal group, obtaining financial advantage by deception, dealing with the proceeds of crime, and wilfully making a false declaration.

They were refused bail to appear at Tweed Heads Local Court on Wednesday.

Police allege the man helped facilitate the attempted import of both drug shipments.

It’s also alleged the man laundered proceeds of crime through an online betting account between 2014 and 2017.

NSW Police commander John Watson said the arrests were “the culmination of 18 months of tenacious work by the squad, with the investigation examining multiple levels and associates of this alleged criminal syndicate”.

Another man was charged over the alleged importation in November 2021 and remains before the courts.

AAP