South Australia Police is currently investigating the discovery of a significant amount of cocaine found on board a ship docked at Port Pirie.
On Monday, 13 November 2023 crew from the ship contacted Port Pirie police to report suspicious packages found within the ship. Police, accompanied by Australian Border Force, subsequently found 23kg of suspected cocaine within the ship.
Officer in Charge of Serious and Organised Crime Branch, Detective Superintendent Billy Thompson said, “the discovery of this amount of cocaine is very significant, it is estimated that the street value of drugs would be in excess of $8 million.”
“If this amount of illicit drugs had successfully entered the drug market it would have no doubt led to significant harm to our community.”
Detectives from Serious and Organised Crime Branch are leading the investigation assisted by local police, SAPOL Water Operations, Australian Border Force and Australian Federal Police. Investigations continue into the source of the cocaine and how it came to be on board the ship. Members of the ship’s crew are assisting police with their enquires.
It is expected that investigators will remain at Port Pirie throughout today as they complete a full search of the ship.
