SYDNEY (dpa): Three men were sentenced to a combined maximum of more than 15 years in prison for their roles in a failed attempt to smuggle 100 kilograms of cocaine into Australia, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Monday.
According to police, the men had been part of a plot to smuggle the drugs in the cargo hold of a Sydney-bound passenger flight hailing from Johannesburg in October 2023.
Two of the men, aged 63 and 57, "were identified as trusted insiders using their employment at Sydney Airport to facilitate the importation of drugs from the inbound flight," the AFP said in a statement.
The 63-year-old was sentenced to 10 years, while the 57-year-old man, a former airline logistics manager, was sentenced to three years for his role in the scheme.
A third man, aged 25, was sentenced to two years and nine months. Police said his "role was to collect the cocaine from the airport precinct for onward distribution in Australia".
The AFP said that two more people believed to have been part of the "alleged criminal syndicate" were still before the courts. - dpa
