drug bust

More than $1 billion of cocaine nabbed in Australia's biggest drug bust

The investigation, dubbed "Operation Beech", has led to the arrest of 12 people with alleged links to the Mexican drug cartel.

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the operation spanned six weeks and involved intensive surveillance and resources.

"This was an opportunity to catch the syndicate - the group of people that were capable of receiving it, landing it and then distributing it across Australia," Commissioner Blanch said.

"The message from the WA Police Force is unchanged … we will come after you, regardless of where you live on this earth."

'Largest ever' meth bust in NZ: Police, Customs seize 613kg of the drug

A shipment of 613 kilograms of the drug - with what police say is a retail value of more than $245 million - was stopped at Auckland Airport last Thursday.

Six people aged between 27 and 36 have been arrested and some have links to the Comancheros motorcycle gang.

Investigators made further enquiries into the intercepted shipment over recent days and search warrants were executed across South Auckland yesterday.

Laos makes Asia's largest ever drug bust

Officers intercepted a truck carrying 55 million methamphetamine tablets and more than 1.5 tonnes of crystal meth, the UN's crime agency said.

The discovery came after police stopped a truck carrying beer crates in Bokeo, which borders Thailand and Myanmar.

The area - known as the Golden Triangle - has a long history of being a major drug-producing hotspot.

Jeremy Douglas, Southeast Asia regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told the BBC it was "by far the largest seizure in the history of East and Southeast Asia".

10 people accused over importing over a tonne of drugs into New Zealand

Up to five million dollars' worth of drugs was seized in a major operation targeting the importation of methamphetamine and other drugs into New Zealand.

A New Zealand man has allegedly been operating overseas since 2016, sending drugs to associates back here via multiple countries and using a variety of ways to conceal the drugs.

He was arrested at the border in Italy on February 2.

Police have also arrested six of his alleged associates living in New Zealand after search warrants were carried out throughout the wider Auckland region last week.

Five more charged over French Polynesia ice production

Last week, the two main suspects were charged and remanded after a raid on a house on Tahiti's peninsula where they had set up a lab to produce the banned drug.

The five were allegedly also involved in the operation by buying medicines at pharmacies to make methamphetamine.

They were reportedly given some of the drug in return.

The couple at the centre of the operation are in their mid-30s.

If convicted, they could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

 

     

Myanmar monk is arrested over two huge drug hauls

The monk was first stopped in Rakhine state with 400,000 tablets in his car.

No value has been placed on the hauls, although in 2015 the UN estimated the retail price of a methamphetamine tablet was about $2 - making the latest consignment worth about $9.2m (£7.3m).

Myanmar has emerged as a top producer of illegal drugs in recent years.

The senior monk, named only as Arsara, was arrested after police discovered the first consignment of tablets in his car as he was driving to the town of Maungdaw bordering Bangladesh.

New Zealander on drugs charges in Vanuatu

RNZ reports Vanuatu Police's drugs team arrested the man on the 29th of August on Epi Island.

The New Zealander is accused of sending marijuana seedlings to Vanuatu with seasonal workers who have been employed in New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.

He is thought to have subsequently travelled to Epi Island to check on the progress of the marijuana cultivation there.

Police said the New Zealander and a local suspect were flown to Port Vila this week and have been remanded in custody.

     

Three Canadians charged over 95kg cocaine haul on cruise ship

Officers from the Australian Border Force (ABF), with the help of sniffer dogs, searched the ship's passenger cabins on Sunday and allegedly found 95 kilograms of the drug packed into suitcaseses.

Andre Tamine, 63, Isabelle Legace, 28, and Melina Roberce, 23, faced charges of importing a commercial quantity of cocaine when they appeared in court today.

They appeared in Sydney's Central Local court via video link from police custody.

The trio did not apply for bail and it was formally refused. They will remain in custody until their next appearance on October 26.