Coffs Harbour man Aravind Periasamy pleads guilty to helping traffick heroin into Australia from Malaysia after ABF find

A northern NSW man was busted helping smuggle more than a kilogram of heroin into the region destined for Melbourne, after ABF tipped police off about a dodgy Malaysian package.

Aravind Periasamy (right) exiting Lismore Courthouse on Friday with a friend.

A northern NSW man was busted helping smuggle more than a kilogram of pure heroin into the region after Australian Border Force tipped police off about a package sent from Malaysia.

Coffs Harbour man Aravind Periasamy faced Lismore District Court pleading guilty to attempting to possess a marketable quantity of an unlawfully imposed border-controlled drug - which was destined for Melbourne.

Documents tendered to the court on Friday state a parcel claiming to only contain fishing gear arrived in Australia from Malaysia in October 2022.

The package was addressed to a Woolgoolga property, a 25 minute drive from Coffs Harbour.

Air cargo security detected 1087.16 grams of pure heroin concealed in the parcel resulting in its seizure by Border Force.

Heroin kills hundreds of Australians each year.

The package was then handed to NSW Police to investigate, the documents state.

Officers planted a fake parcel at the delivery address a day later and staked out the property from afar to catch those responsible.

Periasamy, 30, arrived at the property, examined the package and made a phone call before leaving, police state.

Officers followed the offender’s white sedan and pulled him over at a petrol station. The car was searched and police found fishing gear, as well as several mobile phones.

Periasamy declined legal advice and told police a friend in Melbourne asked him over app WeChat for the parcel to be delivered to him for “extra money”, according to the documents.

Periasamy confessed to knowing the package contained drugs, but told officers he believed it would only have “a little bit, not much”.

He said he was offered $3500 in cash to collect the package and take it to Melbourne. Periasamy also said he was instructed to delete his chat history with the buyer and given money to buy an alternative ‘burner’ phone to use.

Aravind Periasamy (right) told police he knew the package contained drugs.

Periasamy confessed he was “stressed” and needed money to send to Malaysia.

He told officers it was the first parcel he collected, but he had assisted with tracking efforts previously, the court was told.

Periasamy faced the court on bail alongside a Malaysian interpreter assisting him and six supporters in the public gallery. Some were heard crying during submissions.

Police prosecutor Edward McGuiness argued Periasamy had been “trafficking (more) packages” of the illicit and dangerous drug, was aware the parcel contained heroin and he was “financially motivated”.

Police set a trap. Picture: Thomas Lisson/File

“The offender was tracking two previous packages in anticipation of the final packages,” he said. “They were being sent to his home address,” the court heard.

Mr McGuiness told the court police had discovered there were five separate packages linked to Periasamy.

Defence lawyer Darcy Pearsall said his client had no criminal history and recently went to hospital suffering from bowel problems. Mr Pearsall asked for sentencing to be delayed for any health issues to be resolved.

Mr Pearsall said Periasamy’s family relied on him for income and he needed money because his Melbourne-based girlfriend was likely pregnant.

“He comes to Australia for good reasons - not just for crime,” the lawyer said.

“It’s extremely unlikely he will reoffend.”

Periasamy is due to be sentenced in November. Picture: Savannah Pocock

Judge Gina O’Rourke said others in Periasamy’s family were capable of working and she acknowledged the drug smugglers’ interest in returning to Malaysia.

The case was adjourned to November for sentencing.

Out of 1693 drug-induced deaths in the nation in 2022, a total of 455 - or more than a quarter at 27 per cent - were due to heroin, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.