Biggest ever fentanyl haul seized by Australian Federal Police and Border Force
Police uncovered ammunition boxes hidden in a three-tonne piece of machinery — and what they found inside was “outrageous”.
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Australian authorities have seized the largest ever discovery of the deadly opioid fentanyl, saying the would-be drug importers have committed an “act of bastardry”.
A joint operation between the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force has stopped more than five million potentially lethal doses of the highly addictive drug hitting the streets, after a suspicious shipment arrived in Melbourne on December, 2021.
More than 11kg of pure powdered fentanyl equating to 5.5 million doses and 30kg of methamphetamine with a street value of $27m were hidden inside in an industrial wooden lathe sent from Canada.
ABF Commander of maritime and enforcement South James Watson described the attempted importation as “outrageous”.
“I would describe this as a total act of bastardry,” he said.
“To have a detection of 11kg pure (fentanyl), is quite frankly extraordinary. The audacity of the group behind this is quite frankly outrageous.”
Authorities are hunting those responsible for attempting to import the drugs and are yet to make any arrests after a six-month investigation, which began on February 3, 2022.
They believe the importation is the work of organised crime.
“There has been a significant, complex and sensitive ongoing investigation into the parasites that live within our community (behind this),” AFP acting Commander Anthony Hall said.
ABF officers detected nearly 60kg of powdered substances hidden inside military-style ammunition boxes concealed within a three-tonne lathe.
AFP forensic officers then initiated a two-week operation to safely remove and analyse the powder.
Those involved were required to wear protective biohazard suits during the delicate task of removing the powder from the lathe to protect against any skin contact with the drug, which could cause harm, loss of consciousness and even death.
AFP Commander Hall said criminal syndicates across the world were lacing illicit drugs, such as heroin, with the synthetic opioid, creating a dangerous cocktail of substances.
“People who use illicit drugs can never be certain what they are ingesting and this seizure highlights the potentially lethal game of Russian roulette they play,” he said.
“We don’t want to see Australia joining other countries in that deadly game. It is highly unusual to find this drug in Australia.
“Our concern is that if such a large amount of fentanyl was in the hands of Australian-based criminal networks driven by greed, it could have passed uncontrolled and hidden into the
community with possibly deadly results.”
Until this seizure Australian authorities have only ever detected illicit fentanyl importations in minor amounts, all less than 30g.
Fentanyl is a fast-acting opioid that acts on the same receptors in the body as heroin.
In Australia it is primarily used for medical purposes but can be often cut with heroin overseas, often with fatal consequences.
Just 2mg of fentanyl can be deadly, police warn.
ABF Commander Watson described the seizure as a “massive amount” of fentanyl.
“We were absolutely shocked by the size of the detection and the audacity of this attempted importation,” he said.
“It is often a case of life and death with this drug.”
He said the drug was an “extremely toxic” substance to handle, as well as being a lethal drug to use.
“There is a fentanyl epidemic in many parts of the world today, resulting in thousands of deaths of users every year,” he said.
“Our officers work tirelessly to prevent this harm from reaching our streets, as it is literally a life and death battle with these drugs.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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