Australian Border Force nabs ice importation
Hidden behind furniture in a shipping container were boxes containing 1,266 kilograms of ephedrine, an ingredient Border Force police say could produce “10 million hits of ice”.
The Express
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Australian Border Force officers X-rayed a shipping container on September 10.
It had been declared as containing furniture, but the procedure revealed anomalies — 127 boxes containing an ingredient that could be used to manufacture $750m worth of ice.
A presumptive test confirmed the brown substance contained in the boxes was ephedrine.
The ABF then managed the delivery of the container to a warehouse in Roselands on September 16. When two men opened it, they were arrested.
The men — two Malaysian nationals, aged 63 and 22 years — were in Australia on a Tourist Visa and Student Visa, respectively.
They were charged with one count of import commercial quantity of Border Controlled Precursor, an offence that can result in a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment, a $1.05m fine, or both.
They were remanded in custody after a hearing at Burwood Local Court on September 17, and will next appear at Downing Centre Court on November 13.