POLICE have blown open a major cocaine ring worth hundreds of millions of dollars operating out of the Sydney Fish Market, resulting in the arrest of more than a dozen men.
The arrests, made during a series of Christmas Day raids, come after a two-and-a-half-year investigation by the NSW Police Drug Squad and Australian Federal Police.
The top-secret investigation targeted commercial fishermen who were allegedly using fishing trawlers to move cocaine from Chile to Australia, The Daily Telegraph reports.
About 500kg of cocaine was seized on Christmas night, estimated to be worth $162 million, NSW police said in a media release.
A further 600kg of cocaine destined for Australia, estimated to be worth about $197 million, was seized in Tahiti.
The amount of cocaine seized in total has an estimated street value of about $360 million, according to police.
Fifteen men allegedly responsible for the attempted importations have been charged with serious drug importation offences. The men range in age from 29 to 63 years, and have all been refused bail.
One of the 15 men targeted in the sting is former Roosters NRL star John Tobin, who was a first grader in the 1970s and ’80s, and former Bondi cafe owner Darren Mohr, The Daily Telegraph reports.
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http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/crime/police-smash-cocaine-ring-at-sydney-fish-market-in-christmas-day-raids/news-story/393b076e0d2a3afb4ed67daaa60c7b6a
