Police foil plan to smuggle 132L of liquid meth hidden in washing detergent in major bust
A Melbourne man has been arrested and charged over his alleged links with an attempt to smuggle $30m worth of liquid meth hidden in washing detergent bottles into Victoria.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Melbourne man faces life behind bars over his alleged links with an attempt to smuggle $30m worth of liquid methamphetamine hidden in bottles of washing detergent into the state.
A huge police investigation was launched after Australian Border Force officers detected a suspicious pallet of bottles labelled as “ultra concentrate detergent” in a shipping container last month.
Officers allegedly discovered that 21 of the 319 bottles contained liquid methamphetamine, equating to 132 litres of the drug with an estimated street value of $30m.
Detectives seized the bottles allegedly containing the liquid meth and allowed the rest of the shipment to continue for delivery to a storage unit in Melbourne’s south east.
Search warrants were then executed in Brighton, Bentleigh East and Dandenong, where officers allegedly seized phones, electronic devices and small quantities of MDMA and meth.
The 28-year-old British national was arrested and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, and trafficking a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.
Those offences carry a potential maximum penalty of life in prison.
ABF Acting Superintendent of Maritime Operations Malcolm Hollis said intelligence received allowed officers to hone in on the shipment.
“An inspection of the sea container, as a result of accurate intelligence, has ensured a significant amount of a dangerous drug has been seized before entering the Victorian community,” he said.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Rick Briggs said the force would continue to come down hard on those trying to smuggle gear into the country.
“Criminals have little regard for how these harmful drugs impact people, their families, and the community,” he said.
“Criminals will continue to find crafty ways to get harmful drugs into Australia, but that won’t stop the AFP from putting them behind bars.”
The man was expected to front Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
The investigation into the organised crime syndicate responsible for the importation is ongoing.
Violence erupts at Moomba as teens throw punches in all-in brawl
Footage shows the moment young children and families were caught up in a massive fight between dozens of teenagers at Moomba Festival.
Logistics exec accused of posing as women online, telling men to rape them
A high-powered executive and registered sex offender allegedly set of up fake online profiles of women and told men to enter their homes and carry out twisted rape fantasies, a court has heard.