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Inside the Australian Border Force’s game of ‘cat and mouse’ with international drug cartels at Fremantle Port

Smuggling drugs into the Australia is big business for international cartels. And with so much money at stake, with Australians estimated to have consumed $14 billion worth of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and MDMA in the 12 months to August 2025, they invest heavily in constantly evolving methods to evade law enforcement. Authorities describe it as a “game of cat and mouse” as they also evolve their methods for detection. The primary drug import stream used by cartels remains sea cargo, with illicit substances often hidden inside genuine products being imported. At times it’s like finding a needle in a haystack with 20-30kg of drugs tucked away inside thousands of tonnes of cargo aboard massive ships. Australian Border Force officials say if every piece of sea cargo was physically examined coming into the country, the trade and travel system would grind to a halt. Criminals see that as an opportunity. The Sunday Times was granted special access to a recent operation where ABF officers swept through a cargo ship at Fremantle Port loaded with hundreds of new vehicles. Using sniffer dogs and other high-tech equipment, officers pored over the cargo for hours. And while that operation did not yield any drug seizure, only weeks later around 34kg of cocaine was discovered inside a luxury bus being imported on a similar roll-on, roll-off (RORO) cargo vessel at Fremantle. Roll-on, roll-off cargo ships, that are often tightly packed with a range of individual vehicles and machinery, continues to be one of the range of methods used by criminal syndicates to smuggle drugs. Superintendent Shaun Senior, head of WA maritime operations, said his officers were aware of the “great sophistication” used to conceal the illicit substances inside the vehicles aboard ships. “Whether it’s through a mother and daughter transfer (when a large ship throws drugs overboard to a smaller vessel for collection), in shipping containers, in RORO’s, air cargo or through airports, the methods of concealments tend to do the rounds,” he said. “But there is a great sophistication. “Out of South America and into the Americas, the drug subs (submarines) have been mentioned. The drug loads are bigger.” Fremantle Port is the main entry point for sea cargo in WA and the fifth busiest port nationally. It is also often the first Australian stop for international cargo ships before they continue to the eastern States, where cocaine use is more prevalent and gang violence fuelled by drug wars makes headlines. During the operation The Sunday Times was onboard for, ABF officers literally had tonnes of work to undertake using detector dogs and other high-tech equipment. With vehicles packed inside the ship meticulously next to each other across multiple decks there are thousands of potential hiding places for drugs. The vessel’s safe loading weight is 15.37 million kilograms and officers have to move fast to check as much of it as possible as quickly as possible because the ship can only stay docked for a certain period of time, without authorities determining further action is required. The sheer scale of each vessel, expressed multiple times by officers to The Sunday Times during the search, makes the drug hunt incredibly difficult. In a hypothetical situation where cars were stored across every deck, the cargo floor space could hold about 3500 average size cars. Most roll-on, roll-off ships carry a mixture of vehicles. In this instance, it is loaded with mining equipment, vans, cars and industrial parts that keep industries including mining and construction operating. And with each piece of equipment, comes another compartment that drugs could be hiding. The beginning of the search is on the 10th deck, where the odds seem stacked against the officers as they stare down the seemingly endless rows of vehicles. ABF officers picked this ship for a reason but would not reveal why. What they did say was it would be impossible to search the entire ship in a single day. They therefore relied heavily on cutting edge tools and trusted canines. Thunder the black Labrador — who is paid in chin scratches and treats — is key to the search. After weaving his way around hundreds of vehicles sniffing, officers follow his path. They list countless places in vehicles where drugs could be hidden as they deploy electronic tools which can detect suspicious items. Those items often point officers directly to a potential drug shipment. But after hours scouring several decks of vehicles, the ABF didn’t find any drugs. Assistant commissioner Chris Waters said a non-find was still a positive as it helped gather intelligence and hone search craft. “We can’t look at everything, so even a non-find is positive in our sense, because it’s helping us build a better picture where the risks are,” Mr Waters said. “We don’t find things every day, but that’s not necessary. That’s not a fail by any mean, any stretch, because it helps keep our officers skilled. “It shows industry that we’re interested. “We can come at any time. So as soon as you pull up, we can go anywhere. Once you’re in a section 15 port, we’ve got sweeping powers that we can board — and we’ve got lots of technology that’ll help us.” With the ABF responsible for multiple airports, almost 21,000 km worth of coastline in WA (including islands) and overseeing 19,000 sea consignments arriving around the country each day, Mr Waters urged anyone who notices something suspicious to reach contact authorities.

The West Australian exclusiveInside the Australian Border Force’s game of ‘cat and mouse’ with international drug cartels at Fremantle Port

exclusive
Inside the Australian Border Force’s game of ‘cat and mouse’ with international drug cartels at Fremantle Port