Australian Federal Police arrest three Qld men after alleged plan to smuggle liquid meth into state
Three Queensland men charged over an alleged plot to smuggle $400 million of liquid meth into the state hidden inside bottles of juice have been identified, after Canadian Mounties intercepted a consignment from Brazil.
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Federal police have foiled an alleged plot to smuggle $400 million of liquid meth hidden in juice bottles into Queensland in a joint operation in which Canadian officers covertly swapped out the drugs while the shipment was in transit from Brazil to Logan.
Three Queensland men, aged 30, 35 and 43, were arrested by Australian Federal Police officers at a rural property in Jimboomba and a shopping centre in Browns Plains south of Brisbane.
The AFP investigation closed in on an international serious organised crime syndicate that allegedly organised the attempted importation of 1280l of liquid methamphetamine hidden in juice bottles.
Police will allege the drugs had a street value of $400 million once converted into crystal meth, or four million individual street deals.
The AFP launched its investigation after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) allegedly identified the illicit drugs in May when the consignment arrived in Vancouver from Brazil.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police alerted the AFP before the liquid methamphetamine was removed from the consignment and replaced with another substance.
The shipment then continued to Brisbane, where it arrived on a container ship on September 3.
The AFP arrested the three men last week after the consignment was delivered to a semirural property in Jimboomba, Logan, and stored in a large shed.
Terry Gordon Stieler, 43 of Jimboomba, briefly faced Brisbane Arrest Court on Tuesday for mention.
He made no application for bail and the matter was adjourned to September 20 at Brisbane Magistrates Court.
His co-accused John William Spence and Aleki Keith Fakaanga are also expected to be mentioned on that date.
They are each charged with one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug (methamphetamine).
Testing by Canadian authorities allegedly revealed the liquid methamphetamine had a purity level up to 89 per cent.
AFP Acting Commander Adrian Telfer said the negative impact of methamphetamine on the Australian community was well known.
“The cost to our society from four million hits of crystal methamphetamine cannot be overstated,” Acting Commander Telfer said.
“If converted to crystal meth and sold into the Australian community, this amount of liquid methamphetamine would have led to domestic violence, assaults and contributed to the road toll, as well as lined the pockets of organised crime.”
Acting Commander Telfer said the AFP’s international network was a vital weapon in the fight against transnational organised crime in Australia and around the world.
“Through this operation the AFP, working with our partners in Canada, has prevented a large amount of this illicit drug from reaching our communities and causing harm, and put a sizeable dent in the wallets of organised crime.”
The trio faced Brisbane Magistrates Court last week and were remanded in custody to face court again later this month.
Originally published as Australian Federal Police arrest three Qld men after alleged plan to smuggle liquid meth into state
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