Customs warns of 'cocaine invasion'

CUSTOMS is warning of a "cocaine invasion" into Australia as international drug smuggling syndicates learn sophisticated new tricks.

Customs and Border Protection Service chief Michael Pezzullo says organised crime is "mounting an assault" on our borders and threatening our way of life.

Mr Pezzullo says the threat to the nation's national security from this "unseen war" is serious.

"If this indeed was a visible war, we would have mobilised our armed forces and put the nation on the highest state of security alert," Mr Pezzullo told a conference in Melbourne on Monday.

"Instead it is an unseen war, where the enemy does not have a singular or discernible face and does not march under a flag."

Mr Pezzullo singled out cocaine as a particular threat.

The journey of cocaine to Australia's shores is becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex, with various transnational criminal alliances and joint ventures having been established in recent years, challenging enforcement in new ways, he said.

He is particularly concerned about trans-Pacific cocaine importation, either by way of recreational aircraft or through sea cargo.

Mr Pezzullo warns his organisation will not be good enough to protect the borders in the future unless it embraces comprehensive reforms.

"Incremental changes and tinkering at the edges just will not cut it - we need to undertake a complete transformation and all-consuming reform of the way we operate and the way we do business," he said.

Mr Pezzullo also talked about federal government budget cuts that have seen more than half a billion dollars and 740 staff cut from the service over the past five years.

He says there's no more fat to cut.

"We will soon be going through bone and out the other side," he said.

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