One of the men charged over what has been described as Australia's biggest-ever drug bust, which stopped $1 billion worth of cocaine from entering the country, has pleaded guilty in a Perth court.
Police revealed details on the weekend of a covert international operation dubbed Operation Beech, after it led to the arrest of 12 people.
The operation spanned six weeks and involved intensive surveillance and resources to stop 2.4 tonnes of cocaine from reaching Western Australia.
One of the accused, Kenny Chen, pleaded guilty on Monday in the Perth Magistrates Court to attempted possession of drugs with intent to sell or supply, after he was arrested in Carlisle in January.
Police had alleged the 27-year-old, who is from New South Wales, was in Perth to take possession of 200 kilograms of cocaine.
Arrests followed complex operation
On Saturday, WA Police publicly revealed details of the operation, which spanned six weeks and involved intensive surveillance and resources.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration had intercepted the massive haul off the coast of South America in November.
Intelligence suggested the alleged drug traffickers were unaware of the seizure and the Australian arm of the syndicate was expecting to receive the shipment around December 28.
WA Police substituted the cargo for fake cocaine using identical packaging and dropped it 40 nautical miles west of Perth while keeping an eye on it using drones and helicopters.
It is alleged the syndicate used two boats, Catalina and Cool Runnings, to make several attempts to find and retrieve the cargo.
On December 30, WA Police Tactical Response Group officers arrested three men onboard the Cool Runnings with approximately 1.2 tonnes of the fake cocaine, after the boat had washed up on the beach near Moore River, 70 kilometres north of Perth.
It is alleged that others, onboard the Catalina, went looking for Cool Runnings, and towed it back out to sea to transfer the fake drugs, before Cool Runnings sank.
The arrests came after police carried out raids across Perth, including on the Catalina at Hillarys Boat Harbour, as well as at various hotels.
Police had also stopped a vehicle on the Great Eastern Highway, near Coolgardie, where they found more than $2 million in cash.
The 12 people who have been arrested are from WA, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and the United States.
Operation Beech was a joint effort between WA Police Force Transnational Serious and Organised Crime Squad and the Sydney Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from other state policing jurisdictions.
Chen is due to appear in the District Court in May.
