Pubdate: Wed, 02 Feb 2000 Source: Australian, The (Australia) Copyright: News Limited 2000 Contact: http://www.theaustralian.com.au Author: Luke McIlveen POLICE SEIZE RECORD $140 MILLION CACHE OF COCAINE IN a month of record drug seizures, Australian Federal Police and Customs yesterday showed off their latest haul - 500kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of $140 million. An 18-month investigation codenamed Shard led police and Customs officials to intercept a 12m New Zealand-registered yacht, the Ngaire Wha - under full sail allegedly with a full cargo of cocaine - near Patonga, north of Sydney, about 4am yesterday. Three men were arrested on board, and another three were detained on a nearby public wharf. Police claim those on the yacht were planning to take the drugs, wrapped in hessian, ashore in a small dinghy. None of those arrested offered any resistance, though police said they "looked a little surprised". Three men were refused bail in Sydney's Central Court yesterday and the other three are expected to appear today. One of the accused carries the title Sir but an AFP spokesman denied he was a British knight. "This was a syndicate of people up the higher levels of international drug trafficking," AFP agent Peter Donaldson said yesterday. Commissioner Mick Palmer said the haul roughly translated into two million "caps" to be sold individually on the streets. "No business can afford to lose this amount from their profit margin, no matter what the business," he said. The haul more than doubles the previous record of 225kg of cocaine, seized from a yacht at Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast in December 1998. This caps a nightmare month for big-time drug dealers trying to import to Sydney. In the first two weeks of January, more than 120kg of ecstasy seized in separate raids in the city made its way into the AFP furnaces. The six men arrested in the latest sting are believed to be of Australian, British, New Zealand and South American extraction. The consignment is believed to have originated in New Zealand, but the investigation used police resources from several countries. Several more arrests here and overseas are expected to follow within a week. For a week before the raid, a plane shadowed the yacht using new satellite communications equipment to trace the voyage. When those on board looked to be heading towards land, three high-speed vessels made their move and intercepted the yacht. Mr Palmer said main waterways close to the big-city market were becoming the favoured thoroughfare of drug syndicates because they could avoid unwanted attention in heavy traffic. - --- MAP posted-by: Greg