Two women and one man were arrested on Sunday for smuggling over $30 million worth of cocaine into Australia on a cruise ship.
Canadian nationals Melina Roberge, 23, Isabelle Lagacé, 28, and Andre Tamine, 63, were apprehended on Aug. 28 after a search of passenger cabins on the MS Sea Princess cruise ship by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers and detector dogs uncovered over 200 pounds of cocaine packed in suitcases.
The recovery marks the largest amount of drugs seized off a cruise vessel coming into Australia, said the ABF.
It’s not yet clear if Tamine was working with the two women.
Australian officials worked in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, New Zealand Customs Service, and the Canada Border Services Agency.
In 2011, the Québec police noted that Canadian and Québec-based traffickers had an interest in Australia and its high cocaine prices due to the difficulty of getting it in the country, according to TheStar.com.
“These syndicates should be on notice that the Australian Border Force is aware of all of the different ways they attempt to smuggle drugs into our country and we are working with a range of international agencies to stop them,” ABF Assistant Commissioner, Strategic Border Command, Clive Murray said in a news release.
Canadian Border Service Agency identified the threesome as “high-risk travellers,” reported TheStar.com
