The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) have seized more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of approximately AUD 65 million (USD 50.8m) as part of a joint operation.
A Malaysian national and a Hong Kong national have been charged with serious drug offences for their involvement in the importation.
The operation began on February 8 when ACBPS officers at the Sydney Container Examination Facility targeted a container from China declared to be “kids toys.”
During the examination, ACBPS officers located a false floor in the container, which concealed a hidden compartment. This compartment contained 100 kilograms of a white crystallised substance. The crystallised substance when tested indicated a positive reaction to methamphetamine.
AFP and ACBPS officers conducted a controlled delivery where the consignment was delivered to a 30-year-old Hong Kong national and a 37-year-old Malaysian national in a car park in Prestons, New South Wales.
ACBPS Regional Commander NSW, Tim Fitzgerald, said: “This was a complex concealment clearly designed to evade law enforcement detection, however our expert x-ray image analysis and enforcement officers have once again proven that crime doesn’t pay.”
Investigations are ongoing and the AFP has not ruled out further arrests.
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