00:00In late April this year, New South Wales State Crime Command Organised Crime Squad Detectives
00:16commenced Stroke Force Blaine after receiving some information about a suspicious transaction
00:22of a purchase of a 13 metre sea ray boat cruiser in the Sutherland Shire area.
00:28On commencing some investigations, we identified two individuals who were known to the New South
00:34Wales Police Force for a variety of reasons. As a result of the commencement of that investigation
00:40over the next seven proceeding days, we continued to monitor the activities of those two individuals,
00:45which led us to the Greater Newcastle and Mid North Coast area of New South Wales. Based on some
00:51activities that we started to identify and further intelligence that we gleaned, we made contact with
00:57the Australian Federal Police and commenced a joint investigation on those individuals.
01:02On Friday, as it just occurred, as it just happened, there were some further activities that led
01:08us to interdict with that vessel, just nine nautical miles off Nambucca Heads on the Mid North Coast
01:14of New South Wales. There were two males on that vessel at the time, a 24-year-old male
01:19and 26-year-old male from the Greater Newcastle area. They were detained by officers from the
01:25New South Wales Police Marine Area Command. On that vessel was just close to 1.1 tonne of cocaine.
01:33Those two males were arrested. Several hours later, three other males, who we will allege at this
01:38point in time, were coordinating the activities of the two people on that vessel, were also detained
01:44in the Newcastle area. Those males are aged 28, 29 and 35. Several search warrants were conducted again
01:53in the Newcastle area, where a number of devices and other items that were connected to this
01:59investigation were seized. As you would be aware, five people have been charged in relation to this
02:06matter and all have appeared before the courts yesterday, where they've all been bail refused.
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