MERRI-BEK: Cocaine in furniture alleged – Pascoe Vale link
Three people have been charged by the Victorian Joint Organised Crime Taskforce for their alleged involvement in a plot to import 120kg of cocaine into Melbourne.
The trio was arrested on Tuesday (Oct. 26) and charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug.
An investigation commenced on October 9, after Australian Border Force officers detected anomalies in a consignment from Greece consisting of two cabinets that had been declared as household furniture.
ABF officers x-rayed the consignment and located 120 packages of suspected drugs concealed in the furniture. Presumptive testing identified the substance as cocaine.
The detection was referred to the Victorian JOCTF, which removed the illicit drugs and conducted a controlled delivery of the consignment to an Essendon storage facility.
Police will allege a Pascoe Vale South woman, 49, was the consignee of the shipment. It will be alleged that she attended the storage facility on Tuesday, where she coordinated the collection and movement of the consignment.