Record stash of cocaine found buried underground in Australia
Crime
Record stash of cocaine found buried underground in Australia
Updated on: June 22, 2026 / 6:49 AM EDT / CBS/AFP
Add CBS News on GoogleAustralian police seized a record 3 tons of cocaine hidden in plastic tubs buried underground on the outskirts of Sydney, detectives said Monday.
It was the largest cocaine haul in Australian history, a joint organized crime investigation force said in a statement.
Police allege a Sydney-based organized crime group arranged for a foreign vessel to offload the cocaine in northern Queensland before moving it to Sydney for distribution.
"Investigations into the origin of the drugs remain ongoing, and we will work with our international and domestic law enforcement partners to identify the criminal syndicates," Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said.
The cocaine would have been worth more than Aus$800 ($560 million) in street sales — money that "won't make it into the pockets of organized crime," he told a news conference.
Police released multiple images of the bust, showing the drugs concealed in large containers as well as officers collecting evidence and detaining a suspect.
"We know criminals go to extreme lengths, and often risk their own lives, to smuggle drugs into Australia with no regard to the harm they cause to Australian communities," Jay said.
An alleged mother vessel suspected to be part of the illicit drug importation into Queensland, the MV Wealth, has been detained by authorities in the Solomon Islands for further investigation, police said.
Pacific Island states have become a transit point for lucrative black market cocaine and methamphetamine shipments to Australia and New Zealand from as far as South America and Southeast Asia.
"Criminals don't care about borders, and they exploit our oceans to traffic drugs," police said in a post on social media.
Police discovered the cocaine on Friday in plastic tubs buried in underground bunkers that were concealed by false floors.
It was found at the back of a property in Londonderry, a semi-rural northwestern suburb of greater Sydney.
Officers arrested two men aged 21 and 25 who allegedly tried to run away.
Each of the men was charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported drug, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Six others allegedly involved in the importation of the cocaine had previously been arrested and charged with offenses related to illicit drugs possession, police said. One of them, a 31-year-old woman, allegedly lived at a suspected safehouse connected to the operation and was complicit in the storage of the drugs.
Cocaine-related deaths in Australia surged 28% to a record 141 in 2024, according to an annual report on overdoses released this month by the Penington Institute, which researches drug use.
The cocaine seizure follows a string of other major drug busts in Australia.
Last September, three dockworkers were arrested after more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine were found hidden behind a false wall in a shipping container on the Sydney waterfront. That same month, Australian police said they had busted a drug trafficking ring dubbed "The Commission" that brought more than a ton of cocaine into the country in just a few months. In December 2024, Australian police seized 2.3 tons of cocaine and arrested 13 people in raids after a fishing boat broke down off the coast of Queensland.
The recent bust also marks the second underground drug operation uncovered this month. In early June, U.S. authorities announced the discovery of an elaborate 2,000-foot-long drug tunnel between border cities in Mexico and California, complete with electricity, reinforced walls, ventilation and a rail system.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
