POLICE have smashed a cocaine ring worth hundreds of millions of dollars operating out of the Sydney Fish Market during Christmas Day raids which have resulted in the arrest of 15 men — including a former NRL star and Bondi cafe king.
The arrests come after a 2½- year top-secret investigation by the NSW Police Drug Squad and Australian Federal Police which targeted commercial fishermen who were allegedly using fishing trawlers to move cocaine from Chile to Australia.
Police will allege one of the players involved in the alleged cocaine ring is commercial fisherman Joseph Pirrello, 63, who made headlines across the country when he was the managing director of Seafish Tasmania, the company that brought the controversial super trawler Abel Tasman to Australian waters in 2012.
The 143m Dutch-owned ship, formerly called Margiris, was brought to Australia to catch an 18,000 tonne quota of fish but after public outcry the then Environment Minister Tony Burke banned the ship from fishing.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/alleged-cocaine-ring-busted-in-series-of-christmas-day-dru...
Crikey! Them Coppers know how to reel 'em in, ay!
Darn good sock
