Six charged after federal police seize hundreds of kilograms of drugs

Six men charged over alleged plot to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegally imported drugs Thu 18 Jun 2026 at 1:19pm In short: Six men have been charged after authorities seized hundreds of kilograms of illicit drugs allegedly imported through north Queensland. Authorities executed six search warrants at properties across Queensland and New South Wales, seizing 178 kilograms of cocaine and 142 kilograms of methamphetamine along with electronic devices and paraphernalia. What's next? Authorities are anticipating further arrests as the investigation continues. Six people have been charged by federal police over an alleged plot to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illicit drugs allegedly imported into Queensland. Authorities with the Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce seized 178 kilograms of cocaine and 142 kilograms of methamphetamine after executing multiple search warrants as part of Operation Minjiang. The operation began in May after police found 40 kilograms of cocaine at a boat ramp at Midge Point in north Queensland. Police said the alleged mothership was identified and detained by Solomon Islands authorities for further investigation. A burnt-out truck was located near the Midge Point scene and the alleged owner was arrested by police on June 6. The 41-year-old Mackay man has been charged with one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and is expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court tomorrow. Police allege he facilitated the collection of the drugs and transported them to Brisbane. A string of search warrants The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said a crime scene was declared at a suspected safehouse at Petrie in Brisbane's north on June 9, with police allegedly locating 1kg of cocaine and paraphernalia. A 32-year-old man was charged with possessing a dangerous drug and dealing with money or property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime. Police allege the man lived at the location and was involved in storing the drugs on behalf of an organisation. Authorities identified a number of other people allegedly involved in moving drugs to and from the Petrie safehouse. Police executed a search warrant at a home in Middle Park in Brisbane's south-west and arrested a 32-year-old man. He has been charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug, allegedly for transport to Sydney, and is expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court next month. Another search warrant was executed at a home in Eagleby, south of Brisbane, on June 13. A 28-year-old Eagleby man was arrested and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug, with police allegedly seizing items identifying another location in Mount Cotton, south-east of Brisbane. He is expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court tomorrow. Authorities searching the Mount Cotton location allegedly found 178kg of cocaine and 142kg of methamphetamine hidden in a van, which police allege came from the Midge Point importation. Police said the owners of the property were unaware of the drugs and are not considered suspects in the investigation. Another search warrant was executed at a Hillcrest home, south of Brisbane, on Tuesday, and a 28-year-old man was arrested and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug and contravening an order to provide access to electronic devices. He appeared in Beenleigh Magistrates Court yesterday and is expected to appear again tomorrow. AFP officers in Sydney executed a search warrant at a Green Valley home yesterday, and took into custody a 24-year-old man they allege travelled to Midge Point in May to facilitate importation. He is expected to appear in Sydney Downing Centre Court today, where the AFP will apply for him to be extradited to Queensland and charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. Police said the investigation is ongoing and further arrests cannot be ruled out. Anticipating further arrests AFP commander Stephen Jay said the operation led to $100 million "taken out of the hands of criminals". "My message to any criminals seeking to exploit northern Queensland communities is to be warned," he said. He urged the public to be aware of suspicious activities in public areas and to report them to authorities. "What we do know is criminal groups will use public areas to import illicit drugs and any information that the public can provide to assist us to combat these organised crime syndicates will be greatly appreciated and help us to work to limit the impact on our community." Queensland Police Service Crime Command Detective Acting Chief Superintendent Troy Pukallus said authorities were anticipating further arrests as the investigation continues. "Clearly what we have seen is there is levels of sophistication, so there will be some ongoing inquiries and we can expect — or the criminal networks can expect — further action and doors being knocked in the future," he said. "I think it's really important at this point to emphasise this is still very much an active investigation. "We're at the early stages with this and we won't stop until we have a really clear picture around the broader network we're dealing with here." [Image text:] AUS AFP POLICE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE AFP AFP AFP AFP DERAPOL O:AFP