Солтүстік Кореядан Австралияға контрабандалық героин әрекеті

2003 North Korean drug smuggling attempt into Australia

The Pong Su incident began on 16 April 2003 when heroin was smuggled from the Pong Su, a North Korean cargo ship, onto an Australian beach. Australian military special forces subsequently boarded the Pong Su in Australian territorial waters four days later. The ship was suspected of being involved in smuggling almost of heroin into Australia with an estimated street value of A$160 million. The Pong Su (봉수호) was a 349 feet (106 m), 3,743 tonne North Korean owned ocean freighter registered in Tuvalu, a flag of convenience. Three men arrested on shore were convicted of importing heroin; a fourth man from the ship who landed the heroin and was arrested on shore pleaded guilty; the crew were all acquitted and deported; and after being confiscated the ship was destroyed in 2006.

Operation Sorbet was an international operation by Australian police, who had been conducting surveillance on two people who had entered Australia in March 2003 from China, and a third person who had arrived from China on 9 April, all on tourist visas. On the night of 15 April 2003, Australian Federal Police (AFP) conducted surveillance on two people who rendezvoused with the Pong Su close to shore at Boggaley Creek, near the seaside town of Wye River in Victoria, and followed them to a nearby hotel. The next morning, the two suspects were apprehended after leaving the hotel, and were in possession of two packages containing of pure heroin. A third suspect was arrested later that day in nearby Geelong. The following day, in a search of the beach at Boggaley Creek, police discovered the body of a man of East Asian appearance, close to a dinghy and covered by seaweed. He had been part of a two man landing party from the Pong Su, but has never been identified. The dinghy had suffered fuel problems in the surf and had capsized landing the heroin, drowning one of the crew. On the same day, the second man from the landing party was apprehended in the immediate area by Victoria Police. He had been unable to get back to his boat and simply remained in the area where the drugs had been landed the night before. The AFP stated that they had been working on Operation Sorbet for several months, including with international peers. In May 2003, a further of heroin in three packages was discovered buried near Wye River, after a search which followed coordinates from a seized GPS device. An additional package of heroin had been lost during the landing.

On the morning of 17 April, a Tasmania Police patrol vessel directed the Pong Su to head for Melbourne after it had travelled east entering the Bass Strait. In the afternoon, the Pong Su advised that it would head for Sydney and was directed to head for Eden. New South Wales Police patrol vessels became involved. In the morning of 18 April, the Pong Su changed direction to the east away from Australia towards international waters at speed with a police vessel having to terminate the pursuit due to rough weather. In the evening, Navy warship HMAS Stuart began tracking the Pong Su. In the morning of 20 April, after a four day chase, Stuart intercepted the Pong Su south east of Newcastle with the Pong Su complying with most directions. Army Special Operations Tactical Assault Group (TAG) West/East operators boarded by simultaneously fast roping onto the deck from a Seahawk helicopter and from climbing the side onto the deck from three rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) with the crew compliant. The Pong Su was secured and brought into port in Sydney. Searches of the ship by Australian authorities revealed it had been modified for long voyages and was carrying enough fuel and provisions to travel around the world without needing to enter a port. Some 30 men were arrested and detained. It was alleged that the North Korean government was involved in the manufacture and trade of the drugs. The North Korean government stated the ship was a "civilian trading ship" and the ship's owner had no knowledge of the illegal cargo.

After capture the ship was brought to Sydney Harbour where it was originally moored at Garden Island naval base. From there it was taken to Snails Bay and moored for over two years, where it was reportedly costing over $2,500 a day for maintenance and security. It was taken to Chowder Bay in early 2006 while authorities decided what to do with it. Authorities eventually decided to scuttle the ship. On 23 March 2006, in a joint Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Australian Navy military exercise, the Pong Su was sunk by two GBU 10 Paveway II laser guided bombs dropped from RAAF General Dynamics F 111C aircraft. The deliberate destruction of the freighter was said to deliver a strong message to international drug smuggling rings that the Australian Federal Police and Commonwealth Government would take all measures necessary to stop illegal drug importation. Before the ship was scuttled, its radio was removed and donated to the Kurrajong Radio Museum.