Two foreign nationals accused of internally concealing 212 pellets of cocaine

Two foreign nationals, accused of ingesting more than 200 pellets of cocaine in a bid to smuggle the illicit drugs into Australia, are expected to appear in the NSW Local Court – Bail Division on Monday (26 January, 2026).

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers intercepted the United Kingdom national, 26, and a Netherlands national, 28, for a targeted examination after their arrival on board an international flight at Sydney Airport on Thursday (22 January, 2026).

During the interview ABF officers suspected that both men were internally concealing border controlled drugs.

ABF officers referred the matter to the AFP. AFP responded and conveyed both men to hospital for medical treatment, where they remained under police guard throughout the weekend.  

During their hospitalisation, each of the men expelled 106 pellets, a total of 212 packages, weighing a combined total of 2.33kg.

That total amount of cocaine could have accounted for about 11,650 street deals, with a total estimated potential street value of more than $757,000 dollars.

The AFP will allege in court that the pair swallowed the pellets before travelling to Australia in a bid to conceal the drugs from authorities.