International drug bust nets $677 mln of cocaine bound for Australia

A joint U.S. and Australian law enforcement operation busted an international drug ring after intercepting 2.4 tonnes of cocaine aboard a vessel off the coast of South America that had been bound for Australia.
The cocaine, linked to a Mexican drug cartel, had a street value of around A$1 billion ($677 million), and was equivalent to half of Australia’s estimated annual consumption, making the seizure one of the biggest that Australian police have been involved in.
Twelve suspects have been arrested and charged in the case, Western Australian state police said in a statement on Saturday, releasing details for the first time of an operation that began last November when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) intercepted the vessel.
Western Australian police substituted the cargo with identically packed fake cocaine and dropped it roughly 40 nautical miles west of state capital Perth on Dec. 28.