Man charged after cocaine found on Australian beaches

Australian police have arrested and charged a man they allege was behind a failed drug import plot that resulted in cocaine bricks washing up on beaches along the country’s east coast for months.

A 36-year-old man from Brisbane in Queensland is thought to be the head of a domestic crime network and played a key role in the collection and distribution of tonnes of cocaine across the country, Australian Federal Police said.

Some 900kg of cocaine was unable to be collected at sea and about 256kg of the drug washed up in bricks on popular beaches from late 2023.

The man has been charged with 19 offences and could face life imprisonment if found guilty.

Australian Federal Police Superintendent Adrian Telfer said the origin of the drugs is still under investigation.

Detectives also believe the man facilitated the importation and collection of 565kg of cocaine into Western Australia’s mid-west region in August 2023, which was seized by authorities.

It is alleged the drugs were dropped overboard from a bulk cargo carrier before being collected from the Indian Ocean and brought to shore in the coastal town of Kalbarri, north of the city of Perth.

Six men have already been charged over the importation.