Two men have faced court in Newcastle after they were arrested at Lake Macquarie as part of an investigation into an alleged international crime syndicate accused of conspiring to supply three tonnes of cocaine from America - with an estimated street value of $900 million.
Nikolao Misa, 37, and Mende Trajkoski, 42, were charged on Thursday after a police sting in which investigators constructed a replica of a cocaine haul seized in April and put it in a storage shed at Morisset.
Police will allege in court that Mr Trajkoski was arrested trying to access the shed and Mr Misa was detained in a nearby car park. Both men are residents of Sydney suburbs.
Mr Trajkoski was charged with two counts of conspiracy to supply a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, large commercial drug supply and participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity.
According to court documents, Mr Trajkoski twice conspired to supply 1.5 tonnes of cocaine between September 1 last year and Thursday.
He did not apply for bail when he faced Newcastle court on Friday.
Mr Misa, who was charged with large commercial drug supply, applied for bail in court yesterday, with his solicitor George McCarley saying his client was willing to abide by "house arrest" conditions.
But police prosecutor Will Somers opposed the application, telling the court the prosecution case was "very strong" and that Mr Misa could expect a "considerable time in custody" if convicted of the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life in jail for amounts over the 1kg threshold.
Court documents say Mr Misa is charged with supplying 25kg of cocaine. He was denied bail.
Meanwhile, 58-year-old Gjelosh Nikollaj made no bail application when he faced Parramatta Local Court on Friday after being arrested in Sydney in relation to the same operation.
He was charged with two counts of conspiracy to supply a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, two counts of large commercial drug supply and participating in a criminal group contributing to a criminal activity.
All three men will face Central Local Court in Sydney on June 18.
The arrests came after a joint investigation between NSW Police and American law enforcement.
