A Sydney man charged with importing illicit drugs through air cargo shipments claimed he could rely on an Australian Border Force official for status updates.
The 34-year-old, from Rose Bay, is alleged to be part of a criminal drug smuggling syndicate and is set to face Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.
He came under the radar of the Australian Federal Police and Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity in early 2020 when three separate shipments were found to have about four, nine and 14 kilograms of cocaine.
It will be alleged in court the man told other syndicate members he had access to a ABF member, who could provide updates on the status of drug shipments.
Jaala Hinchcliffe, head of ACLEI, said allegations a corrupt ABF official had assisted in the plot were serious.
"Information obtained by law enforcement members can be extremely valuable to criminal entities, and corrupt conduct by law enforcement members will not be tolerated," the integrity commissioner said in a statement.
The man had also been using publicly-available, parcel-tracking websites to check on the cargo and report back, police allege.
He is accused of using a phone subscribed in a fake name to track 62 shipments, six of which contained illicit drugs including 14kg of cocaine, 8.2kg of heroin and 48.6kg of methamphetamine.
AFP Superintendent Matthew Parsons said there is currently a high demand for illicit drugs in NSW, and syndicates are regularly opting to send smaller shipments through air cargo and mail streams to avoid detection.
"Shipments of this size are not a surprise to law enforcement given the changes organised crime syndicates have made in response to the current environment," he said.
The man's Rose Bay home was raided on Friday, with police seizing three encrypted electronic devices.
He has since been charged with four counts of importing commercial quantities of border controlled drugs, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
