360kg ice haul seized in Melbourne, three charged
A massive ice haul valued at $180 million has been seized in Melbourne, with three men charged over 360kg of the drug that was stashed in cardboard boxes.
Police & Courts
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Australian Federal Police have busted a major drug ring and arrested three men after seizing more than $180 million worth of ice in Melbourne.
The massive haul, weighing 360kg of crystal methamphetamine, arrived at Melbourne’s docks from Malaysia in 18 boxes covered with aluminium foil.
The boxes were hidden within a container packed with furniture.
The drugs, had they made it to Melbourne’s streets, would have supplied 3.6 million drug hits.
The seizure led to the arrest of a 36-year-old Pattersons Lakes man who was taken into custody after a raid in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Two Malaysian men were later arrested in the CBD and faced court on Thursday.
The trio have been charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug. All three face a maximum penalty of life in jail.
Raids at Pattersons Lakes and the CBD led to further warrants being executed at private addresses in Carrum, Williams Landing and a commercial property in Cheltenham.
Photos released by the AFP show dozens of blocks of the drug ice, which were found by Australian Border Force officers on June 8.
Outlaw motorcycle gang members have been linked to the international organised crime syndicate which attempted to import the drugs.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Bruce Giles has confirmed its investigation is ongoing into the syndicate.
More arrests are expected within Australia while international members of the syndicate are also being probed.
Mr Giles said the drugs would have caused “inevitable deaths and misery’’ had they not been seized.
He said no specific intelligence, or tip-off, had led the ABF to the container.
“Our inquiries into the exact source of the drugs remain ongoing,’’ he said.
“We will continue to work closely with our overseas partners to target the criminal syndicates behind this importation and attack the links they have to Australia.
“Had (the) drugs made its way to Australian streets, countless lives would have been affected. “Drug users, healthcare workers who deal with drug issues each and every day, and families torn apart from the scourge of illicit substance abuse.’’
ABF Regional Commander Craig Palmer paid credit to the work of his officers whose experience led them to suspect illicit drugs were being smuggled in the container.
X-ray testing and a search of the container confirmed their suspicions.
“Criminals continue to find different ways to try to hide harmful drugs, and while concealment methods are getting more advanced, so is the ABF’s ability to detect them,’’ he said.
Commander Palmer said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ABF had dedicated more resources to Australia’s docks, which had seen a spike in detection, as a result of less air travel smuggling.
To date in 2020, two tonnes of ice have been seized at Australia’s border.
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