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The Australian Border Force (ABF) has once again busted a cocaine shipment tucked inside an imported luxury bus aboard a ro/ro - an unusual choice of concealment, but one that it has encountered before.
On May 6, ABF officers searched a ro/ro at the Port of Fremantle and examined its rolling cargo, including a high-end motor coach. Hidden behind panels in the ceiling of the bus, they found about 34 kilos of cocaine in packages. At sky-high Australian pricing of about $230,000 per kilo - about 60 percent more than the price of gold - the overall consignment was worth about US$8 million, according to the ABF.
"Our highly trained ABF officers are equipped with the expertise, intelligence and operational capability to detect and disrupt illegal activity at the border," Superintendent Shaun Senior said. "Criminal syndicates continue to test our borders, including through complex concealments in cargo such as roll-on/roll-off vessels."
The ABF is investigating the shipment and is interested in receiving tips from the public.
It is not the first time that cocaine has arrived in Fremantle this way. In 2024, ABF officers found 139 packages inside a shipment of 13 luxury buses on the ro/ro Gracious Ace during a call at the port. They allowed the buses to be offloaded and delivered to a storage site, then arrested two men who showed up to break into the buses to retrieve the packages. The suspects were charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of cocaine, an offense punishable by up to life in prison in Australia.
Per capita, Australia is the world's busiest market for cocaine sales: about 13 percent of Australians try it at some point in their lives, and about 4.5 percent self-report that they've used it in the past 12 months. The continent's isolation and strict law enforcement also make it one of the most lucrative markets. While total volumes are low when compared to the European trade lane, significant cocaine busts have become a matter of routine for the ABF, and the problems associated with trafficking are proliferating on the Pacific island route to Australia's market.
Fuente: Maritime Executive
