300kg of pseudoephedrine found hidden in washing powder in Melbourne

UP TO 300kg of pure pseudoephedrine, used to make the drug ice, that was hidden in washing powder was seized in Melbourne.

UP TO 300kg of pure pseudoephedrine has been discovered hidden in washing powder in Melbourne.

Five men have been charged with drug importation offences after federal police seized the drug precursor, the AFP said in a statement on Monday.

The pseudoephedrine was allegedly hidden in a large shipping container, in more than 160 boxes of washing powder.

The shipping container was filled with about 900 boxes of washing powder and pseudoephedrine was hidden deep among it in 167 boxes.

Australian Border Force Regional Commander James Watson told reporters on Monday the container was taken to a Melbourne examination facility where x-ray allowed investigators to look into the container to see what of the washing powder was legitimate.

The pseudoephedrine seizure, worth $42 million, was part of an operation which began last October and continued throughout the Christmas and New Year period.

Pseudoephedrine is commonly used to treat nasal and sinus congestion but is an ingredient in methamphetamine.

The pseudoephedrine seized could have delivered 1.5 million methamphetamine hits to Victorian streets, worth more than $200 million.

“This is the largest seizure of pseudoephedrine for a number of years,” Mr Watson said.

“The harm amphetamine substances do to our community, the way they ruin lives, this operation is another great example of how our joint law enforcement partners work together.”

Australian Federal Police officer loads pseudoephedrine onto a table. Picture: AAP/Julian Smith

Investigators said a complex syndicate was importing the pseudoephedrine, but the syndicate has now been dismantled from the top.

It is alleged the pseudoephedrine could be connected to an amphetamine lab in Werribee, in Melbourne’s southwest, which was shut down by police in October.

At that time two Australians and a Vietnamese national were arrested.

The five men charged over the pseudoephedrine are believed to be Australian citizens.

According to the Australian Institute of Criminology the majority of amphetamines taken in Australia have been made in the country in clandestine laboratories, which are often mobile and sometimes contained within car boots.

Methamphetamine is reportedly the most common amphetamine made in Australia because it’s easier to access the precursor chemical pseudoephedrine.

— with AAP