$3 million of cocaine found on Sydney cruise ship as MSC admits it is helping police

• Passenger 48-year-old Adriano Gustavo Leonardi Thiem has been charged with smuggling $3 million worth of cocaine.
• 10 kg of cocaine was found in the Brazilian National’s cabin
• The arrest took place on March 15 and the passenger was charged in court on March 17.

A Brazilian national, 48-year-old Adriano Gustavo Leonardi Thiem, has been charged with smuggling $3 million worth of cocaine found on the MSC Magnifica cruise ship.

MSC’s Magnifica was moored at Athol Bay on a world cruise. An MSC spokesperson told Cruise Passenger: “We are working closely with the authorities in Sydney and providing support following the onboard arrest on 15 March of a male guest.”

The Australian Federal police were called to a ship after inspections revealed a positive result for cocaine. After closer investigation, 28 individually wrapped packages of cocaine were found hidden in the ceiling cavity of his cabin.

AFP Detective Superintendent Kristie Cressy stated, “This amount of cocaine could have been sold in the community as 10,000 individual street deals of 1 gram for about $3 million.”

The search took place on March 15 while the ship docked at Sydney Harbour.

The Australian Border Force also reported finding “body packing material” in the ceiling cavity and in the wardrobe. This is used to help conceal drugs and avoid detection when passing through borders or security.

There was also evidence found on the man’s phone which related to drug trafficking.

The Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force have released a joint statement about the failed import. They have charged the man with:

• One count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug
• One count of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug

The maximum penalty for both offences is life imprisonment.

ABF Superintendent Matt O’Connor emphasised their stringent efforts to prevent any kind of smuggling on cruise ships: “Our ABF officers process and border clear thousands of passengers and crew members on every international cruise ship which arrives into Sydney, and are ready to respond to any threat which may present itself.”

On March 15, three cruise ships arrived in Sydney: Princess Cruises‘ Royal Princess, Royal Caribbean International’s Ovation of the Seas and MSC‘s MSC Maginifica, which is on a world cruise. She made stops in Brazil and Argentina in late January before arriving in Sydney.