Cops: Trio Brought $23M in Cocaine on Cruise

3 Canadians could face life in prison
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 31, 2016 8:37 AM CDT
Cops: Trio Brought $23M in Cocaine on Cruise
That's quite the souvenir.   (Australian Border Force)

Australia has made one of its largest drug busts ever … on a cruise ship. With help from Canadian and US authorities, police searched the Sea Princess after it docked in Sydney on Sunday and uncovered 210 pounds of cocaine, worth about $23 million, in two cabins, reports La Presse. Quebec natives Isabelle Lagace, 28, Melina Roberge, 22, and Andre Tamine, 63, could now face life in prison for drug smuggling. Authorities say Lagace and Roberge were traveling together, but it isn't clear if they know Tamine.

All three boarded the Sea Princess in Britain in July, authorities say. The ship then embarked on a 66-day world tour, making stops in Canada, the US, Caribbean, South America, and New Zealand. The Australian Border Force isn't sure when or where the drugs were brought on board but says the accused were working with a "very well organized syndicate," per the Sydney Morning Herald. A rep tells Reuters the bust is the biggest drug seizure at an airport or cruise ship in the country's history. (More cocaine stories.)

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