Six charged in Australia after huge drug bust
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 30 November, 2014, 5:36am
UPDATED : Sunday, 30 November, 2014, 5:36am
Agence France-Presse in Sydney
Australian police handle seized drugs yesterday. Photo: AFP
Police in Australia have charged six men after they allegedly found drugs worth up to A$1.5 billion (HK$9.9 billion) hidden in furniture inside a shipping container.
The discovery is the secondlargest drug bust in the country’s history, police said.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the men were charged over their involvement in the attempted importation of almost three tonnes of MDMA (Ecstasy) and crystal methamphetamine, also known as Ice, into Sydney.
Police will allege that the drugs, detected by customs officers, were hidden in a container shipped from Germany that had been filled with furniture and unmarked boxes.
Customs said officers found the drugs while searching a seacargo container from Hamburg on November 21.
“This seizure represents the second-largest seizure in Australian history, which proves lawenforcement agencies are working harder than ever to keep drugs out of our community,” said AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin.
He said the police investigation would involve probes into Europe and parts of Asia and a number of crime groups were probably involved.
Authorities said that after the drugs were discovered, police allowed the shipment to be delivered to an address in western Sydney. They arrested the six men, all Australian residents, as they accessed the boxes.
“The importation of these substances into the community is being orchestrated by serious and organised crime groups,” Customs chief executive Roman Quaedvlieg said.
The six men, who range in age from 23 to 34, have all been charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The charges attract a possible penalty of life imprisonment, police said.
