After making preparations including buying a second-hand van, hiring an eight-tonne truck and a forklift, an accused drug trafficker received disappointing news the shipping container he expected would not arrive.

“I don’t even need this one,” David Campbell allegedly told a customs broker in April 2017, after only one of two containers he was expecting showed.

The container he needed, which allegedly contained close to a tonne of pure cocaine concealed in steel posts, had already been intercepted by authorities.

Campbell, 53, is facing trial alongside Tristan Waters, 39, accused of conspiring to import and possess border controlled drugs.

Waters has pleaded guilty to the second charge but denies involvement in the import conspiracy.

The pair were dramatically arrested at a Serbian hotel in January 2018 following a globe-trotting undercover police operation.

This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force.

An alleged WA bikie has been arrested at Perth International Airport in connection to 176 grams of pure methamphetamine imported into the country from the United States through air cargo.

The investigation began in August 2022 after an employee at a courier service noticed inconsistencies with two packages described as containing documents due to be delivered to an eastern suburbs address in Perth linked to the man, and notified Australian Border Force (ABF).

ABF officers found almost 300 grams of crystalline methamphetamine in sealed plastic bags and referred the matter to the AFP.

AFP enquiries linked the two consignments to a man, 28, from Perth’s southern suburbs alleged to be a member of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang.

The man flew to the United Kingdom in January 2022 and returned to Australia on 24 March 2023 where he was arrested upon arrival.

He appeared before Perth Magistrates Court on 24 April 2023 charged with two counts of attempting to possess a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, contrary to section 307.6(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

AFP Acting Inspector Chris Lilburne said outlaw motorcycle groups employ a variety of methods to import illicit drugs into the country, including sending a multiple number of smaller parcels in an effort to evade law enforcement detection.

“Small imports like these add up over time and have a profound impact upon our communities, much like a single, larger import would,” A/Inspector Lilburne said.

“The AFP has robust partnerships with other Commonwealth agencies and private industry to detect these attempts to penetrate our border and stop the spread of this scourge in our communities.”

ABF Superintendent James Payne said the arrest served as a reminder to those seeking to import harmful drugs into Australia that irrespective of the size of the parcel, ABF’s air cargo system was not an easy target.

“We have officers around Australia using a variety of methods and resources at their disposal to detect concealments of illicit drugs, regardless of how creatively criminals try to hide them,” Superintendent Payne said.

“The Australian border is one of our most critical national assets. The ABF, along with our law enforcement partners and international mail handlers, will continue to make the border a hostile environment for criminals trying to import illicit drugs.”

A truck driver is expected to face court in Queensland after Crime Squad detectives allegedly uncovered a massive drug stash.

Police intercepted the vehicle, a Hino Pantech truck travelling from Melbourne, in the Gold Coast on Friday afternoon.

Behind palm trees they allegedly discovered 136kg of cannabis stored in cryovac bags.

“Gold Coast Major and Organised Crime Squad detectives have charged a man after he allegedly drove a truck containing a large quantity of cannabis from Melbourne,” Queensland Police Service said in a statement.