Australians Find Cocaine with Tracking Devices Hidden in Arriving Container

 

Australian authorities are reporting another major drug seizure from an inbound shipping container, but this time with tracking devices. It is part of a surge of cocaine smuggling reported by the Australian Federal Police.

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers identified the consignment on December 2, as it was inbound at Port Botany in New South Wales. The container was tagged for inspection, and they conducted an X-ray examination. The scan identified anomalies in the rear of the container.

Pictures provided by the AFP appear to show that they dismantled the refrigeration unit on the rear of the container.  The further examination by ABF officers, they reported, located 22 individually wrapped plastic blocks, with an estimated total weight of 27kg. In addition, the police report that they located packages containing tracking devices also in the container. 

Testing returned a positive reading for cocaine. The police are estimating a value of A$9 million (US$5.9 million) on this latest seizure. They said it had enough cocaine for about 135,000 street-level deals.

“Transnational criminal syndicates will go to any extreme in their attempts to import harmful illicit substances into our country,” said AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Aaron Burgess. “Information sharing between partner agencies provides law enforcement a more complete picture of inbound suspicious cargo and for where it is destined.”

It is the latest in a series of large seizures made in the joint efforts of the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force. Since October 2025, they report that about 145kg of cocaine has been found by ABF officers in refrigerated containers. 

The Border Force highlights that its officers provided around-the-clock intelligence-driven assessments of sea cargo consignments before they reached Australian shores. It is part of the ongoing effort to combat the smuggling efforts.