Elderly drug mules caught in Australian police sting

A couple in their 60s have been charged as being drug mules, smuggling 1 million Australian dollars' worth of cannabis across three states.

More than 100 kg of the drug was packed into 200 airtight plastic bags and stored in a secret compartment of a specially altered utility vehicle with a cabin and truck-tray, police alleged on Thursday.

The secret compartment could only be accessed by a hydraulic mechanism which was also hidden in the vehicle.

The alleged couple had been recruited by a drug gang because they were a non-descript looking pair.

They were alleged to have driven the drugs from South Australia to Queensland's Gold Coast, a 2,100-km journey.

But police had the drug gang under surveillance and knew about the planned run and intercepted the couple in their car when they reached Queensland last month.

They were released without charge at the time, but were this week charged after a search of a Gold Coast home.

"The allegation will be that he was the driver recruited to bring the drugs up into Queensland," Detective Inspector Lance Vercoe told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday.

"I think some of these drug syndicates are very smart in relation to who they employ or recruit, so they're looking for people who don't stand out," he said. Endi