ESSENDON, VIC. — Three people have been charged by the Victorian Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (JOCTF) for their alleged involvement in a plot to import 120kg of cocaine into Melbourne.
The trio was arrested on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 and charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug.
An investigation commenced on October 9, 2026, after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers detected anomalies in a consignment from Greece consisting of two cabinets that had been declared as household furniture.
ABF officers x-rayed the consignment and located 120 packages of suspected drugs concealed in the furniture. Presumptive testing identified the substance as cocaine.
The detection was referred to the Victorian JOCTF, which removed the illicit drugs and conducted a controlled delivery of the consignment to an Essendon storage facility.
Police will allege a Pascoe Vale South woman, 49, was the consignee of the shipment.
It will be alleged that she attended the storage facility on Tuesday, where she coordinated the collection and movement of the consignment.
During the controlled delivery, police identified two men – one aged 31 from Rockbank and another aged 40 from Cairnlea.
Police will allege the 31-year-old drove the consignment from the storage facility to an address in Keilor, where it was opened and separated.
Part of the shipment was transferred to a second vehicle, which was driven to an address in Glenroy, where the 40-year-old was arrested.
It is alleged the 31-year-old drove the other vehicle to an address in Rockbank where he was intercepted by police and also arrested.
JOCTF members subsequently arrested the woman at a Pascoe Vale address on October 20.
The charges of importing and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The trio appeared on Wednesday, October 21 in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where the two men were formally refused bail, and the woman was granted conditional bail.
All three will next appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on February 10, 2027.
