Two men arrested over attempted importation of 300 kg cocaine

SYDNEY, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Australian police have arrested two men over the attempted importation of 300 kilograms of cocaine.

Police and border protection force officers made the arrests after the drugs with a street value of 79.6 million U.S. dollars were found inside packets of cocoa powder bound for Melbourne.

The packages were brought into Australia by air cargo from Mexico where they were found by authorities.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed that the two men, aged 33 and 34, are from Mexico and will face a Melbourne court on Thursday afternoon.

The 34-year-old man was arrested earlier in November after he arrived in Melbourne from Los Angeles with a small amount of cocaine in his possession.

A subsequent investigation led police to seize a package labelled as coffee and cocoa powder in Altona, south-west of Melbourne, which contained the rest of the drugs.

Properties in Port Melbourne and Balaclava were raided on Wednesday night, resulting in the arrest of the 33-year old man.

Australian Border Force's Rod Winchester said international drug syndicates often targeted Australia due to high demand for drugs.

"Sadly, Australians are still prepared to pay a very high price for drugs including cocaine, but we aren't making it easy for them," Winchester told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

"This is why Border Force officers turn up to work each day to play their part in stopping dangerous people, peddling dangerous drugs, from entering our country and ruining Australian lives."

A 2017 analysis by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) found that cocaine use in Victoria peaked at 11 hits a day per 1000 people, more than double the national average of five hits per 1000. Enditem