Australian Border Force officers discovered 300kg of cocaine concealed in a bizarre fashion on Monday.
Officers said they discovered huge amounts of drugs concealed within a particular shipment from Germany.
Upon inspection, officers located almost 300kg sneakily hidden with a tractor, held in a shipping container.
The container was declared as carrying two tractors and machinery parts from Germany via Panama.
Upon X-ray of the shipment, Border Force officers discovered anomalies, leading them to open it up.
Inside and around the tractor, they found six large wrapped boxes, identified later as cocaine.
No arrests have been made over the concealed drugs as yet, but police are investigating to find those responsible for the importation, along with the intended recipients of the shipment.
An investigation is underway by the Victorian Joint Organised Crime Taskforce, a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, Victoria Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.
Victoria Police Detective Superintendent David Cowan said the shipment would have “generated millions” if it ended up on the streets.
“When people are buying and consuming these drugs, there is often a misconception that they are simply ‘party’ drugs, or they have no broader societal impacts,” he said.
“We know the trafficking of illicit drugs such as cocaine is a significant revenue raiser for serious and organised crime groups, so the sale of this amount of cocaine would have generated millions that, in turn, could have funded a range of other violent crimes.
“This includes murders, shootings, stabbings, aggravated burglaries, arson attacks and more – things that people would never commit or pay for themselves, but effectively this is what you are doing by giving these syndicates your money.”
In a statement, Australian Border Force Superintendent Dan Peters described how organised crime groups behind shipments like this spread “untold misery” within society.
“Detections such as these don’t happen out of mere coincidence – our ABF officers are highly trained and know what to look for,” Supt Peters said.
“Transnational and serious organised crime groups are well resourced and, through their attempts to flood the domestic illicit drug market with product, they spread untold misery in the community.
“We’ll continue to work closely with our JOCTF partners to target and detect criminal activity and emphasise the value we place on working with the community to protect Australia’s interests.”
Read related topics:Melbourne Crime Wave