CANBERRA, ACT, July 9 -- Australian Federal Police issued the following media release:

This is a joint media release between the Panamanian National Police, the Panamanian Public Prosecution Office, the AFP and Australian Border Force.

Twenty-six port workers have been arrested in Panama following a two-year international investigation into an organised crime network allegedly responsible for trafficking more than one tonne of cocaine intercepted in Australia and across Europe.

Police will allege the network used the Port of Balboa as a key transit hub, relying on corrupt port workers and contractors to contaminate refrigerated shipping containers with illicit drugs before they were exported to Australia and Europe.

Intelligence sharing between the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Border Force (ABF), Panamanian National Police (PNP), the Panamanian Public Prosecutor's Office (PGN) and other international partners, identified links between the alleged syndicate and multiple cocaine detections and seizures in Australia from October 2024 to present.

Following extensive investigations, Panamanian authorities executed 37 search warrants across Panama on 7 July, 2026, arresting 26 people alleged to be workers from the Balboa Port in Panama.

AFP Commander Americas, Andrew Donoghoe said Australia and Panama shared a common interest in identifying, disrupting and dismantling organised crime networks which are responsible for international drug trafficking.

"Working alongside our Panamanian partners, we have struck at the heart of a major criminal organisation that sought to exploit international supply chains to traffic large quantities of cocaine to Australia," Commander Donoghoe said.

"This operation demonstrates the strength of international law enforcement partnerships and the critical role intelligence sharing plays in combating transnational organised crime."

ABF Commander International Operations, Commander Claire Rees said the coordinated action across Panamanian and Australian authorities as a result of information sharing and detections at the Australian border has delivered significant outcomes that protect Australian communities.

"This operation shows Australian and Panamanian agencies working together with a targeted focus and unified intent to disrupt organised crime networks, targeting their operating model before the illicit drugs even make their way to the Australian Border," Commander Rees said.

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