Sydney-area cocaine cache uncovered in record Australian seizure
Australian police found about 3 tons of cocaine buried on a property near Sydney, marking the country’s largest-ever drug seizure and resulting in arrests during the raid.
Tag
Cocaine
All articles tagged with #cocaine
Camp Pendleton Gate Breach Triggers Six-Hour Manhunt and Drug Bust
A traffic stop turned into a six-hour manhunt when a driver breached Camp Pendleton gates and abandoned a car in base housing, yielding about 51 kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl; the case is now in federal hands with suspects facing federal charges.
Cross-border tunnel tied to San Diego front store yields more-than-a-ton cocaine bust
Federal prosecutors charged four suspects—two Mexican nationals and two Americans aged 18–32—with conspiring to traffic more than a ton of cocaine linked to a cross-border tunnel that ran from a San Diego front store, Buy 4 Less, to Tijuana. The 55-foot-deep tunnel stretched over 1,000 feet to the border (with about 800 feet into Mexico) and used a rail-and-cart system, electricity, and ventilation. Authorities seized more than 2,250 pounds of cocaine and, in addition to drug charges, one defendant faces an extra count for constructing, financing, or using an unauthorized tunnel. This is the first cross-border tunnel found in Southern California since 2022, part of a long-running network associated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Cross-Border Cocaine Tunnel Uncovered in San Diego Metro, $45M Bust
U.S. authorities dismantled a sophisticated 2,000-foot cross-border tunnel beneath a Buy 4 Less warehouse near Otay Mesa, linking San Diego to Tijuana. The operation recovered more than 2,269 pounds of cocaine (over a ton) and led to four arrests. The tunnel, up to 55 feet deep, included electricity, ventilation, reinforced walls and a rail system, with about 1,000 feet on the U.S. side and 800+ feet in Mexico. The suspects face drug-distribution charges and potential life sentences; the investigation cited the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and described the tunnel as a major enforcement blow.
Secret cross-border tunnel under SoCal store linked to cartel cocaine flow
A 55-foot-deep, about 2,000-foot-long tunnel hidden beneath a Buy 4 Less in Otay Mesa, San Diego County, fitted with reinforced walls, a rail system, ventilation and electricity, was used by the Jalisco New Generation cartel to smuggle roughly $45 million worth of cocaine from Mexico to California. Homeland Security agents uncovered the passage after months of surveillance and seizures, exposing an elaborate cross-border operation; four men face conspiracy charges to import and distribute narcotics, with potential life sentences and up to $10 million fines. The tunnel can be accessed by a hydraulic lift, and authorities note this case demonstrates the ongoing danger of subterranean smuggling along the California border.
£7m cocaine haul hidden in Skims lorry ends with 13½-year jail term
Polish driver Jakub Jan Konkel was jailed for 13 years and six months after £7m worth of cocaine was found hidden inside a rear-door hide in a lorry delivering Skims underwear. The 90 packages of 1kg cocaine were discovered at the Port of Harwich during a concealed loading during a 16‑minute stop not declared in interview. Konkel admitted agreeing to smuggle the drugs for €4,500, with authorities noting such drivers enable organised crime and the seizure disrupts criminal networks.
UK sentences trucker over multimillion-dollar cocaine found in SKIMS clothing shipment
A Polish truck driver, Jakub Jan Konkel, was sentenced to 13½ years in the UK for smuggling nearly 200 pounds of cocaine—worth about $9.4 million—inside a 28-pallet shipment of Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS clothing from the Netherlands to Essex. Authorities say the drugs were hidden in a back-door compartment and loaded during a 16-minute stop at Hook of Holland; Konkel was paid about $5,243. The UK National Crime Agency stressed that the clothing importers/exporters involved in the shipment were not implicated and the cargo was otherwise legitimate.
Cocaine hidden in Skims shipment earns driver 13.5-year sentence
Jakub Konkel, a Polish lorry driver, hid 90kg of cocaine inside a Skims clothing shipment and was paid €4,500 to drive it from Belgium/Netherlands to the UK; border officers at Harwich found 90 wraps concealed in the rear trailer doors. He was jailed for 13.5 years at Chelmsford Crown Court, with the drugs, truck and phone destroyed and deportation planned after his sentence.
Cocaine Hidden in Skims Shipment Nets 13-Year UK Sentence
British authorities say truck driver Jakub Jan Konkel smuggled about 90 kilograms of cocaine worth roughly £7 million ($9.4 million) inside a shipment of Skims clothing from the Netherlands; the drugs were hidden in a back-door compartment and the shipment appeared legitimate. Konkel was paid €4,500 to transport them and was sentenced to 13 years in Chelmsford Crown Court.
Cocaine hidden in Skims shipment earns Polish driver 13½-year sentence
UK authorities uncovered 90 packages of cocaine worth about €7.2 million ($8.4 million) concealed in a false rear-door compartment of a Skims cargo truck at the Port of Harwich. Polish driver Jakub Jan Konkel pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 years and six months. The Skims shipment was legitimate and the company says it had no knowledge of the crime. Investigators say organized crime exploited legitimate freight routes to move drugs across borders.
UK Truck Driver Jailed Over Cocaine Hidden in Skims Shipment
A British court has jailed a truck driver for smuggling cocaine concealed inside a shipment of Skims clothing, in a case tied to international drug trafficking.
Cocaine Hidden in Skims Shipment Leads to 13½-Year UK Sentence
UK trucker Jakub Konkel was jailed for 13½ years after 90 kg of cocaine worth about $9.4 million was found hidden in a shipment of Skims underwear en route from the Netherlands; the cargo consisted of 28 pallets with drugs concealed in a back-door compartment. The National Crime Agency said the shipment looked legitimate and Konkel admitted transporting the drugs for €4,500.
Former NFL defensive end Josh Mauro dies in accidental overdose
Former NFL defensive end Josh Mauro died last month at 35 in an accidental overdose, with authorities citing acute combined fentanyl, cocaine, and ethanol intoxication. Mauro played at Stanford and spent time with the Cardinals, Giants, and Raiders before retiring after the 2021 season.
Europol-led sting cripples transatlantic cocaine routes
A two‑week international operation coordinated by Europol disrupted a major cocaine trafficking network moving drugs from Latin America to Europe. Authorities seized over 12 tons of cocaine and about 9.5 tons of hashish, intercepted eight vessels, and arrested 54 people. The effort highlights evolving, offshore multi‑stage transfers in the Atlantic to evade major ports, with focus on the area between the Canary Islands and the Azores, termed the so‑called cocaine highway.
Spain Seizes What May Be Record Cocaine Haul From Atlantic Shipment
Spain's Civil Guard intercepted a ship in international waters near the Canary Islands, unveiling an estimated 35–40 tons of cocaine—potentially the largest haul in Spain's history—with about 20 arrests as the investigation proceeds; authorities suspect the cargo was meant for offloading to smaller vessels for distribution in Europe, underscoring international trafficking networks.