Three men have been sentenced to a combined 29 years and six months in prison after a botched drug importation plot that saw a drug-filled luxury sports cruiser sink off the Western Australian coast.

The trio saw their drug operation unravel spectacularly after their vessel, loaded with more than 300kg of cocaine, capsized in rough seas near Albany in February 2023.

The Western Australian men, aged 38, 47, and 51, were sentenced yesterday in the Perth District Court after pleading guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

Their dramatic downfall was first mistaken for a simple fishing accident, kicking off a police investigation that quickly uncovered one of the state's most brazen drug smuggling attempts.

The initial investigation began with a rescue. West

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