Nine men have been charged in a multi-agency operation investigating an alleged syndicate behind the importation of tonnes of illicit drugs into Victoria and the trafficking across the country.
The ten-month investigation has seen nine alleged offenders, aged between 31 and 72, charged with a range of offences relating to the alleged conspiracy of interstate drug trafficking.
Seven of the men are now facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if found guilty.
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The operation began in May last year after four crew members were rescued offshore following the sinking of a commercial trawler off Port Albert in Victoria.
The crew's movements were monitored following suspicions about why the vessel was out at sea in poor weather without the equipment usually used for commercial fishing.
For months after the incident, police kept close watch on multiple local boats they suspected were linked to a drug importation syndicate.
Authorities will allege the syndicate unsuccessfully made multiple attempts to travel in the Bass Strait so they could launch "daughter vessels" to receive large quantities of drugs from a "mother ship" passing through Australian waters.
Multiple search warrants were executed over the past month across suburbs in Victoria, including Morwell, Glenroy, Cranbourne, Cranbourne West, Cranbourne South and Greenvale.
A warrant was also executed in St Clair, a suburb in Sydney's west.
Following the searches, eight men were arrested in Victoria, and one man was arrested in Sydney.
Police charged seven of the men for their alleged roles in conspiracy to import drugs into the country, while two were charged for their alleged involvement in drug activity.
Four of the men were also charged in relation to the seizure of 30kg of methamphetamine in Perth on August 11 last year and the confiscation of 41kg of cocaine by Victorian police just two days later.
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Police will allege these two incidents are tied to the syndicate, which would allegedly exploit ties to the trucking industry to move illicit drugs interstate.
Police have not ruled out further arrests as they continue to investigate the international syndicate behind an alleged mothership attempting to drop illicit cargo into Australian waters.
"Organised criminals are sending their business to our shores because of the insatiable Australian demand for illicit commodities and the community's willingness to pay top dollar for them," AFP Detective Superintendent Ray Imbriano said.
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