Australian police have seized 2.7 tonnes of cocaine – the country's largest ever bust – from an underground bunker system in western Sydney. The drugs, with an estimated street value of £433m, were found on Friday in compartments concealed beneath false floors in three shipping containers at a property in Londonderry.
Arrests and charges
Two men aged 21 and 25 were arrested at the scene and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. They appeared before a NSW Local Court on Saturday (20 June 2026) and were remanded in custody. They are next expected to appear before Penrith Local Court on 13 August 2026.
The discovery
AFP investigators executed a search warrant at a semi-rural property in Londonderry, near western Sydney, on Friday 19 June. During a search of three shipping containers near the rear of the property, police located the 2.7 tonnes of cocaine in plastic tubs buried in underground bunkers concealed by false container floors.
Police say the cocaine was smuggled into Australia via the small town of Midge Point in North Queensland on the orders of an organised crime group. The Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce had previously seized 178kg of cocaine and 142kg of meth – with a combined estimated street value of $100 million.
Operation Minjiang
Operation Minjiang began in May 2026, after 40kg of cocaine was located in the water off a boat ramp at Midge Point by the Queensland Police Service (QPS), which was responding to reports of a burnt-out flatbed truck. Another six people in Queensland and New South Wales were arrested and charged as part of investigations sparked by the find, police said last week.
Police statement
AFP Commander Stephen Jay praised the unwavering commitment of AFP investigators and QJOCTF law enforcement partners to ensure this criminal network did not profit from its ill-gotten goods and keep Australians safe from the growing threat of illicit drugs. “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,” Commander Jay said. “This alleged plot to distribute nearly three tonnes of cocaine — by arranging for an international vessel to offload the drugs in Northern Queensland before moving them into Sydney — demonstrates how highly organised and determined these criminal networks are, and the extreme lengths they are willing to go to in pursuit of profit. 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 and anyone else involved in facilitating this alleged attempted drug import.”
