SYDNEY, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Police in eastern Australia have arrested multiple men after disrupting an alleged drug supply syndicate accused of extracting cocaine concealed inside timber.
The police force in the state of New South Wales (NSW) said in a statement on Wednesday that officers began an investigation in August 2025 after receiving intelligence that the syndicate was set to extract about 100 kg of cocaine concealed inside four tons of timber planks.
Photos and videos of cocaine impregnated into wooden planks were subsequently found on a phone following the arrest of a 33-year-old man who was allegedly found in possession of 2 kg of cocaine in Sydney on Jan. 2.
Police determined that the planks were being stored in the NSW town of Lismore, about 600 km north of Sydney, and on the Gold Coast in the neighboring state of Queensland.
Six tons of wooden planks were seized by officers during a search of a Lismore property on Jan. 22, and a "significant number" of planks were also allegedly located inside a clandestine extraction lab on the Gold Coast.
Four men, all aged between 42 and 55, were arrested and charged with producing dangerous drugs and possession of relevant equipment.
Another 33-year-old man was arrested in northern NSW on Tuesday and charged with supplying prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis, supplying prohibited drugs in a large commercial quantity and knowingly directing the activities of the criminal group.
The NSW Police Force said that the origin of the timber planks remains under investigation. ■