Ice bust puts the heat on Iranian drug lords

A joint AFP and Malaysian police operation has smashed an international smuggling syndicate linked to Sydney and Melbourne that imported ice hidden in 32 tonnes of paraffin wax.

Iranian drug lords are attempting to flood Australia with ice shipped through Malaysia as the Islamic Republic has become a key manufacturer and shipment point for the addictive drug. An Australian Federal Police operation, in tandem with Malaysian police, has smashed an international smuggling syndicate that imported ice hidden in 32 tonnes of paraffin wax.

Operation Tiger-Malang, a joint partnership between the AFP and Royal Malaysian Police, intercepted an Iranian organised crime shipment following “relentless surveillance”.

The ice was mixed with paraffin wax and concealed in 166 drums, which were identified in Kuala Lumpur. They were intercepted by police in Sydney and replaced before being shipped on to Melbourne.

Barrels seized at warehouse in Victoria. Picture: Supplied

Police had watched the drugs for three months from its original departure point in Iran.

AFP Commander Kate Ferry said police had an “unwavering commitment” to stop drugs reaching Australia.

“We are targeting the root of the problem — serious organised crime networks. We are making significant strides in disrupting illicit drug routes through our strong international partnerships,” she said.

A 31-year-old Melbourne man was charged with collecting the paraffin wax ice shipment in Sydney and faced court last month.

He was accused of collecting 88 drums in the ice shipment, which had been sent to a warehouse in Rowville in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

AFP officers found a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition during raids following his arrest.

He was charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs and possessing a firearm.

Some of the other items that were also found during police raids. Picture: Supplied

The exact amount of ice in the wax has yet to be determined as it was undergoing forensic testing.

The AFP had separately arrested three men in February over a $100 million ice shipment linked to an Iranian organised crime syndicate.

The 110kg of ice was allegedly hidden in 400 boxes of gold and silver hip flasks.

Iran has been awash with ice for more than a decade as criminal groups, suspected to be operating with the tacit approval of the nation’s security forces, supercharged the trade.

The country’s border with Afghanistan, previously the world’s biggest opium poppy producer, had made Iran a sophisticated supply line in the international drug trade.

Police also found a sawn-off shotgun. Picture: Supplied

But the Taliban’s ban on poppy production in Afghanistan after the United States withdrawal in August 2021 disrupted that trade.

Iran is now one of the world’s biggest importers of pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in ice as Iranian criminals were forced to find new markets.

An international crime report has warned that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp were suspected of being involved in the drug trade, which generates “enormous revenues” in Iran.

The United States continues to enforce punishing economic sanctions on Iran, which has crippled its economy.

Originally published as Ice bust puts the heat on Iranian drug lords