By Jessica McSweeney and Nick Newling
A Sydney man is facing life in prison after an anonymous tip led police to 900 kilograms of methamphetamine smuggled into Australia hidden inside industrial machines from the United States.
Police received a call to Crime Stoppers last month alerting them to the alleged drug importation. The US Homeland Security Investigations agency also passed on information to their Australian counterparts that indicated the drugs may have been imported from the US.
A south-west Sydney man has been charged for his alleged involvement.Credit: Australian Federal Police
Australian Border Force officers detected and removed 896 kilograms of methamphetamine from a shipping container at Port Botany, before it was delivered to its intended destination at Warwick Farm.
The drugs were found in individually wrapped packages. Police estimate the seizure amount to almost 9 million individual street deals worth $828 million.
Michael Charumbira, 31, was arrested at a Warwick Farm property on Wednesday, alongside another man who was later released pending further inquiries.
Charumbira is alleged to have opened and attempted to handle the contents of the machinery before he was arrested by police.
The imported machines in Port Botany. Credit: Australian Federal Police
The drugs were concealed within two computer numerical control machines – a machine commonly used for manufacturing – that were bound for a Sydney furniture store. The methamphetamine was alleged to have been imported as part of a “piggybacking” strategy.
“Piggybacking” involves the shipping of contraband to an established business with a history of importing, with the material then diverted to criminal syndicates upon arrival in Australia.
Police allege the drugs were intended to be distributed “across the eastern seaboard”.
AFP officers raid the Warwick Farm property.Credit: Australian Federal Police
Charumbira, an Australian-Zimbabwean national, was charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The maximum penalty is life in prison.
Police allege the import is part of a large criminal syndicate, and more arrests are expected.
Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Peter Fogarty said the bust would have a significant impact on the drug trade in NSW.
“Methamphetamine is the second-most-consumed illicit drug in Australia, and its impact can be felt across the community, in our homes and in our hospitals,” said Fogarty.
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