Three Australians Sentenced for Cocaine‑Loaded Printer Smuggle Plot

In April 2017, Australian Border Force officers stopped a shipment of five printers bound for a factory in Airport West, Victoria. Inside the paper trays they found ten packages of compressed white powder. Field tests indicated the substance was cocaine, prompting investigators to seize the drugs, replace them with an inert material, and forward the printers to their destination while installing tracking devices. The operation led to the arrest of four men in May 2017 who attempted to retrieve the printers.

- The cocaine weighed 22.4 kilograms, equivalent to about 49.4 pounds, and was concealed in five printers. - In 2019 media reports identified the printers as Xerox brand and estimated the street value of the drugs between 9.3 million and 12.4 million Australian dollars (roughly $6.7 million to $9 million). - One of the four arrested men was sentenced this month to nine years in prison with a non‑parole period of four and a half years; he must serve at least that time before becoming eligible for release. - A second man received a 10‑year sentence in 2025 with a five‑and‑a‑half‑year non‑parole period. - A third man was given a 10‑year sentence in 2022 with a six‑and‑a‑half‑year non‑parole period. - The fourth man arrested in 2017 was acquitted. - AFP acting commander Simone Butcher said the agency and its partners remain committed to protecting the community by disrupting organized crime and preventing profit from community misery.

The case illustrates how traffickers conceal illicit substances in everyday electronics to evade detection. Law enforcement's use of tracking devices and controlled deliveries allowed them to monitor the network and gather evidence for prosecution. Ongoing vigilance at ports and mail facilities remains critical as criminal groups adapt their methods.