Why a remote north Qld boat ramp became the centre of an international drug seizure investigation

Under the cover of night, two boats made their way through the calm waters of the Coral Sea towards the north Queensland coast.

On board were 3.1 tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine.

After leaving a larger mothership allegedly anchored in deep water, the tender boats entered the southern end of Whitsunday Passage, passing groups of tropical islands.

The tide was rising by the time they arrived at the remote Jimmys Rock boat ramp at Midge Point, 100 kilometres north of Mackay.

Waiting at the boat ramp was a flatbed truck with a crane on the back ready to lift cargo nets loaded with packages of drugs, which the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has since valued, conservatively, at $904.9 million.

Also at the boat ramp were locals, concealed by mangroves and bushland, quietly taking a photo of one of the tender boats, which they supplied to the ABC.

In the photo, a boat’s registration number is obscured by paint, and a lone figure is visible in the wheelhouse, which has radar equipment mounted on top.

The AFP verified the photograph was of one of two boats involved in the import, but said the tenders had not been located.

Unloading bungle

Presumably, unloading the drugs didn’t go completely to plan.

When dawn broke on Saturday, May 30, locals spotted two large packages, later revealed to contain a total of 40 kilograms of cocaine.

One package was floating among the rocks and the other lay on the mangrove mud, either dropped in the dark or abandoned in haste as early-morning boaties arrived to take advantage of the high tide.

By 8am, the truck was alight and police and volunteers from the Midge Point Rural Fire Brigade were called.

Queensland Police Acting Chief Superintendent Troy McAllison said the truck was believed to have been set on fire to destroy evidence.

Three weeks later, police seized 178kg of cocaine and 142kg of methamphetamine in Brisbane, which they allege originated from the Midge Point import.

This was followed by the discovery of a further 2.7 tonnes of cocaine hidden under false floors of a shipping container on a semi-rural property west of Sydney.

Speaking after the Western Sydney find, the AFP said it was the largest ever cocaine bust in Australia, adding that, while drugs traditionally came across the Pacific, in this case, they possibly came through North Asia.

Police have detained the alleged mothership, the 98-metre-long Belize-registered cargo ship MV Wealth, in Solomon Islands for further investigation.

Why Midge Point?

Sheltered by the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsunday coast is a haven for calm sailing.

More than 160km out to sea, cargo ships traverse the deep-water shipping channel, Hydrographers Passage, to reach Queensland’s ports.

Jimmys Rock boat ramp is a 10-minute drive from the abandoned, once-luxury Laguna Quays five-star resort.

It’s also a short drive from Midge Point, which has no police station and is home to about 435 people.

Despite the rough, dirt-road access, it’s only 16km to the Bruce Highway, and is popular with night-time fishers chasing barramundi, mangrove jack, crabs and squid.

With big tides of up to 5 metres, arrival and departures are carefully timed to avoid boats becoming stranded in the estuary at low tide.

Neil Brooks, owner of the Midge Point Tavern, said, like many other locals, he was surprised to hear about the drugs being smuggled through their “quiet little fishing village”.

“Maybe they thought it was a place they could sneak in and sneak out.”

Mr Brooks said the lack of a breakwall at the ramp made it dangerous to launch at times, but it was still a popular spot for local boaties.

“I think they obviously picked a time when no-one was down there using it,” he said.

Queensland’s coastline ‘attractive’

Following the joint federal and state investigation, eight people have been arrested, including a Mackay-region man alleged to have driven the drugs to Brisbane.

Speaking after the arrests, the AFP said there was an increased effort by organised crime to target Queensland’s vast coastline.

“Criminals will always test our border in Queensland. It’s because it’s remote, effectively, that’s what is attractive,” Commander Stephen Jay said.

Commander Jay said the haul was the equivalent of 3 million street-level deals.

“This is an exceptional outcome that … started with reports of a burnt-out truck in North Queensland,” he said.

“This has saved potentially millions of people from harm, from illicit drugs, either from their consumption or from the violence associated with the distribution and sale of illicit drugs.”

He said police were investigating whether the same ships and crime syndicate had organised previous imports.