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Syd man jailed for massive cocaine import

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The Belgian-registered yacht was stopped in the Solomon Islands with 500kg of cocaine on board.
Camera IconThe Belgian-registered yacht was stopped in the Solomon Islands with 500kg of cocaine on board. Credit: AAP

A 43-year-old man will spend nearly a decade in jail for his role in a failed plan to import more than 500 kilograms of cocaine into Australia via the Solomon Islands.

Two Sydney men were arrested in September 2018 following a joint investigation involving the Australian Federal Police, Solomon Islands Police, US Drug Enforcement and the Australian Border Force.

Their arrests came as police searched the Belgian-registered, double-masted yacht Vieux Malin, which was moored outside the Honiara marina in the Solomon Islands.

The AFP says police found 501kg of cocaine concealed on the vessel, with an estimated street value of between $125m and $250m.

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The cocaine had been loaded onto the vessel in South America and was destined for Australia.

As the yacht was being searched, police in Australia arrested two men during raids on homes in the Sydney suburbs of Wahroonga, Bonnyrigg Heights, Dolls Point and Caringbah.

In December 2019, a 41-year-old Bonnyrigg Heights man charged with knowingly dealing in money or other property which is an instrument of crime was sentenced in Downing Centre District Court to two years' imprisonment to be served by the way of an Intensive Correction Order and 500 hours of community service.

On May 2 this year a 43-year-old Wahroonga man, who was a key player in the scheme, was sentenced in Downing Centre Court.

He was sentenced to 14 years and five months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of nine years for his involvement in the conspiracy to import the cocaine into Australia.

He was also sentenced to five years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years for his involvement in knowingly dealing in money or other property which is an instrument of crime, valued at greater than $50,000.

The man will be eligible for parole in November 2027.

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