Men Rescued From Ocean by Police End Up in Jail Charged as Drug Smugglers

 

It began simply enough with the police in Western Australia rescuing three men from the ocean, but in the end, they were sentenced to a total of nearly 30 years as drug smugglers. The police had been suspicious, but the story unraveled when packets of cocaine began washing ashore, and the police found a luxury boat wrecked and washed ashore.

In early February 2023, Western Australia Police Force officers rescued three men (now ages 38, 47, and 51) from the ocean off Albany, which is located in Western Australia’s Great Southern region. They were found clinging to a cooler and told the police their vessel had capsized during a fishing trip.

The police were suspicious and alerted the Australian Border Force, and the whole story began to unravel almost a week later. The accounts supplied by the three men appeared inconsistent, but then a plastic-wrapped package containing multiple smaller packages of cocaine washed ashore near Denmark, about 34 miles west of Albany. The following day, a 23-foot sports cruiser named Aces and Eights was found overturned and wrecked off Peaceful Bay, about 30 miles west of Denmark.

The police gained a warrant and searched the cruiser. There, they discovered 273 packages containing about 274 kilograms of what was confirmed to be cocaine. 

 

Police found the drugs after hauling the boat on to the shore (ABF)

 

The discovery led the police to conclude that the rescue was in fact a botched smuggling attempt. They believe the drugs had been dropped off by a passing ship and were collected by the three from the ocean. They suspect the boat, heavily laden, encountered rough waters on its way back to shore. The hapless trio wrecked the boat, likely causing it to capsize and landing them in the water. 

The police launched a manhunt for the trio, leading to their arrests over a span of six weeks. Each of the three ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and was sentenced in the Perth District Court this week. 

“We believe this amount of cocaine would have been distributed across Australia, not just in Western Australia, and in turn, negatively impacted thousands of lives,” said Murray Taylor, Australia Federal Police Acting Commander.

Australia remains one of the most lucrative and attractive target markets for transnational organized crime groups. The police report in 2023-24, the authorities seized 33.7 tonnes of illicit drugs.