‘Cocaine drought’ as $280m worth of Netflix-branded blocks seized

The Australian Federal Police says it has seized 700 kilograms of cocaine worth $280 million and branded with the word Netflix from a container ship at Port Botany.

The Singaporean vessel Maersk Inverness docked in Sydney last month,where Australian Border Force officials uncovered 700 kilograms of the drug concealed in denim bags inside a container marked as containing wood products.

Twenty-eight denim bags containing 25-kilogram bricks of cocaine were seized.

Twenty-eight denim bags containing 25-kilogram bricks of cocaine were seized.Australian Border Force

Twenty-eight denim bags,each containing a 25-kilogram brick of cocaine branded with the word Netflix and the numerals 5 and 365,were seized by authorities on July 22.

The ship had docked in ports in South and Central America before arriving in Sydney.

“We are still investigating where the drugs were loaded and who was planning to collect them in Australia,” the AFP’s Detective Inspector Luke Wilson said.

“The interception of this amount of drugs would be a significant blow to a well-resourced syndicate,and prevents millions of dollars of drug profit flowing back into the syndicate to fund their lavish lifestyles or next criminal venture.

The so-called “cocaine drought” in Sydney at the moment means sellers of cocaine can command up to $400,000 per kilogram,federal police say.

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Sally Rawsthorne is a crime reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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