Authorities seized some 95 kilograms of cocaine from a cruise ship in Sydney, Australia during a search aboard the vessel on August 28, and arrested three Canadian nationals on drug importation charges.
Namely, Australian Border Force (ABF) officers boarded the vessel when it berthed in Sydney Harbour, and with the assistance of detector dogs, searched a number of passenger cabins on the ship, and found the cocaine which was packed in suitcases. The illegal cargo, reportedly found aboard the Princess Cruises-operated MS Sea Princess, is worth some AUD 23 million, according to Associated Press.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers then arrested three Canadian nationals, a 63-year-old man, a 28-year-old woman and a 23-year old woman, all of which were scheduled to face Sydney Central Local court yesterday.
The maximum penalty for their charge of importing a commercial quantity of cocaine is life imprisonment.
AFP added that the investigations remain ongoing and further arrests have not been ruled out.
The operation was jointly conducted by the ABF and the AFP, in cooperation with the US Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New Zealand Customs Service (NZCS) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).