Swiss national charged after alleged attempt to smuggle 25kg of cocaine into Melbourne Airport

A young Swiss national has been arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle 25kg of cocaine into Melbourne Airport along with just a beach towel.

A man has been charged after he allegedly tried to smuggle 25kg of coke into Melbourne. Picture: AFP

A young Swiss national was arrested at Melbourne Airport with only a beach towel and allegedly 25kg of cocaine in his suitcase.

The 21-year-old faced court on Saturday charged with importing $8m worth of cocaine bricks stashed in his black suitcase after he flew in from Los Angeles on Friday.

Australian Border Force officers selected the man for a baggage examination where they allegedly detected the cache of illicit gear stored in 20 black plastic packets.

Only a blue and white striped beach towel was accompanying the huge stash of drugs.

Testing of the white substance returned a positive result for cocaine.

The man was remanded to appear in court in March. Picture: AFP

Federal Police say that amount of cocaine — 25kg — could have been sold as almost 125,000 individual street deals with an estimated total value of $8m.

It was one of the more brazen alleged drug smuggling attempts into Melbourne on an international flight in recent times.

The Swiss national faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Saturday charged with importing and possessing a commercial quantity of cocaine.

Australian Border Force acting commander Kelly-Anne Parish said the increased traffic over the holidays did not impact patrols.

“Despite being the busiest time of year with record numbers of travellers, we remain highly vigilant in order to deter and apprehend emboldened criminals seeking to exploit Australia’s borders through any number of ways,” she said.

“We will continue to do everything in our power to bring to justice those criminal syndicates looking to proliferate the illicit global drug trade and net immense financial gains to fund other nefarious enterprises.”

Authorities say the stash would have been worth about $8m. Picture: AFP

AFP Detective Superintendent Simon Butcher said it was another win for the community.

“Despite all the risks involved, we are still regularly charging people who have attempted to bring illicit drugs into our country through our airports,” he said.

“The AFP and our partners are working tirelessly to prevent illicit drugs from reaching the Australian community and stop criminals profiting at the community’s expense.”

It is not known what the man’s intentions were in Australia but he appeared to have been ready to hit the beach or pool for Sunday’s sweltering heat.

It is also unclear whether he exceeded the accepted checked baggage limit of 23kg, or whether he upgraded to the 32kg option.

The accused was remanded in custody to appear in court on March 31.

Originally published as Swiss national charged after alleged attempt to smuggle 25kg of cocaine into Melbourne Airport