00:00Nine men in Victoria and New South Wales were charged by the Australian Federal Police
00:04for their alleged attempts to import tonnes of illicit drugs.
00:09The alleged offenders, aged between 31 and 72,
00:13were charged with a range of offences relating to alleged conspiracy
00:17and interstate trafficking of illicit drugs.
00:20Seven of the accused face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
00:24Four of the men were also charged in connection to the seizure of 30 kilograms of methamphetamine
00:30and 41 kilograms of cocaine from August 2025.
00:35A 10-month investigation began in May 2025 by the Victorian Joint Organised Crime Task Force,
00:42which includes the AFP, Victoria Police, Australian Border Force
00:47and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission,
00:50when four crew members were rescued from a sinking commercial trawler off the coast of Port Albert.
00:56Authorities began monitoring the movements of the crew
00:58due to suspicions the vessel had been travelling in bad conditions
01:02without commercial fishing equipment.
01:04It's alleged the syndicate attempted to travel into Bass Strait numerous times
01:09to launch suspected daughter vessels to drop zones to receive quantities of illicit drugs
01:14from a mothership passing Australian waters.
01:29Thank you very much.
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