The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Victoria Police have arrested eight people in the past 10 days who they allege brought heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine worth $21 million into Australia.
Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh from Victoria Police said the arrests occurred as part of Operation Sunrise, which involved the AFP, Australian Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.
The joint investigative team has alleged that the syndicate used cabin crews at Malindo Air, a small airline based in Malaysia, to bring the drugs into the country.
Investigators allege the drugs were brought in via Melbourne and Sydney, carried on the bodies of the cabin crew.
One defendant allegedly told investigators it was his 20th trip into Australia.
“[Operation Sunrise] is a complex, five-month operation targeting an alleged Vietnamese organised crime syndicate based in Melbourne,” Assistant Commissioner Walsh said.
Assistant Commissioner Walsh said police believed the syndicate had been operating for at least five years and that the drugs seized so far were clearly “not the total amount of drugs” alleged to have been imported.
“This is a significant seizure but I think reality would say that it’s not the total amount of drugs that this team have brought into this country,” she said.
“Intelligence would tell us that this crew has been operating for some years, I would say five plus … I don’t know whether or not it’s decades.”
