Police bust massive haul of meth, cocaine in luggage at Melbourne Airport
Two young travellers who landed in Melbourne Airport with large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine in their bags face the prospect of spending up to 25 years in prison.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Two young women who jetted in to Melbourne Airport face up to 25 years in prison after allegedly being separately busted with big caches of methamphetamine and cocaine in their baggage, police say.
The detained pair, one from Melbourne and the other from Portugal, flew in from the US 11 days apart.
They were intercepted at the airport and later charged by the Australian Federal Police.
A 22-year-old Lilydale woman was arrested on Thursday after Australian Border Force officers screened her baggage and found vacuum-sealed bags that allegedly contained 18kg of meth and 2kg of cocaine.
She had just arrived from Los Angeles, and was charged with importing and possession of a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and a marketable quantity of cocaine. The woman appeared in court on Friday and was denied bail. She will appear again in April.
On January 18, the Portuguese national, aged 20, arrived at Melbourne Airport from the US.
ABF officers searched her luggage and allegedly found vacuum-sealed bags containing clothing impregnated with methamphetamine. The clothing weighed 16kg.
She was charged with importing and possessing a marketable quantity of meth and refused bail in a subsequent Melbourne Magistrates’ Court hearing.
AFP Commander Raegan Stewart said the AFP and partners were committed to stamping out airport criminality and the activity of transnational drug syndicates.
“Despite all the risks involved, we are still arresting people who attempt to bring illicit drugs into our country through our airports,” Commander Stewart said.
“No matter how elaborate or creative the attempts are, the AFP and our partners are committed to preventing airports from being used as part of the criminal supply chain.
“It’s about protecting the community from the scourge of drugs and targeting individuals who seek to profit from the illicit trade.”
Acting Commander Fiona Strong, of the ABF, said the ability of its officers to detect illicit substances at the border should be a strong deterrent.
She said officers were highly skilled and well equipped to identify the criminal methods used in drug smuggling.
“The ABF remain committed to fighting the scourge of drug mules being used by criminal syndicates to amass huge profits and who show no regard for Australia’s laws or its people,” she said.
“Our message to those who so brazenly engage in such criminal endeavours is that along with our partner agencies, we will continue to utilise all tools at our disposal to intercept and apprehend you with absolute conviction.”
Third man charged with murder over double shooting in Rye
Homicide squad detectives have charged a third Narre Warren man over the shooting deaths of Charlyze Hayter and Jackson Gilmour on the Mornington Peninsula late last year.
‘Blood everywhere’: Elderly man assaulted by drunk tram passenger
An elderly man was left bleeding from the head after a drunk passenger struck him with a bottle in front of horrified onlookers on a tram in St Kilda.