A man will face court later this year after he was charged this week over an alleged plot to import 62kg of cocaine into Australia, concealed in mechanical equipment.

In February 2025, Australian Border Force officers in Sydney’s container examination facility searched a consignment addressed to an Adelaide business.

They allegedly found 62 individually wrapped packages of powder, each weighing about 1kg, hidden in the cavity of a mechanical wheel-balancing machine.

The powder allegedly tested positive for cocaine and the ABF alerted federal police.

On February 24 this year, the AFP carried out a search warrant at a business in Magill, Adelaide.

Investigators allege evidence seized during the raid led to the arrest of a 29-year-old Adelaide man on Monday.

He was charged with commercial drug importation and possession offences and is scheduled to face court on October 1.

If found guilty of either, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

“This seizure, with an estimated street value of $20.1 million, has stopped a potential 310,000 individual street deals from hitting our streets and causing significant harm to our communities and economy,” AFP Detective Superintendent Melinda Adam said.

Across Australia in 2021-22, there were more than 1300 cocaine-related hospitalisations – more than three a day on average – according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.