Holden Hill man, 29, arrested in $20m cocaine smuggling plot busted by AFP and ABF
A five-month investigation into the alleged importation of 62kg of cocaine has led to the arrest of a 29-year-old Adelaide man with links to an eastern suburbs business.
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A raid on an eastern suburbs business has led to a South Australian man being arrested over his alleged involvement in a plot to smuggle more than $20m worth of cocaine into the country.
Australian Federal Police on Monday arrested a 29-year-old Holden Hill man after a search of a Magill business allegedly uncovered evidence relating to the importation of 62kg of cocaine.
The man has been charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
Both charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The arrest came after an extensive five-month investigation which was launched in February when Australian Border Force officers at the Sydney Container Examination Facility searched a consignment addressed to an Adelaide business.
They allegedly found 62 individually wrapped packages of powder, each weighing about 1kg, concealed in a cavity of a mechanical wheel-balancing machine.
Testing allegedly indicated the presence of cocaine and ABF officers alerted the AFP, who seized the packages and began investigating.
On February 24, AFP officers raided a Magill business and allegedly seized evidence relating to the importation.
Subsequent analysis of the evidence led to the arrest of the Holden Hill man this week.
He will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on October 1.
AFP detective superintendent Melinda Adam said drug crime caused “significant harm to the health, safety, financial and physical security of the Australian community”.
“This seizure, with an estimated street value of $20.1 million, has stopped a potential 310,000 individual street deals from hitting our streets and causing significant harm to our communities and economy,” she said.
ABF acting superintendent Reilly Farrell said every illicit drug detection was a step closer to safer streets.
“Given the extensive experienced and expert capabilities of ABF officers, there is no clever way to import drugs into Australia,” he said.
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