Australian Authorities Seize Cocaine from Shipping Container

The Australian Border Force (ABF) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) have seized almost 65kg of cocaine potentially worth more than A$21 million ($14 million) from a shipping container in Brisbane.

The consignment came from Panama and was declared as 20 packages containing 2380 wooden slats.

Officers x-rayed the shipping container and noticed anomalies within its flooring that turned out to be 108 bricks of a white substance wrapped in black plastic.

ABF detector dogs attended and provided a positive indication of narcotics within the consignment. Forensic testing confirmed the bags contained cocaine.

AFP acting Superintendent Shane Scott said: “This amount of cocaine could have resulted in 324,000 street level deals, which could have done untold harm had it made it into the Australian community."

Investigations into the origin of the shipment are ongoing.