Adelaide man arrested in unusual Cairns city drug bust

Police have forced a man from South Australia to snort out suspected contraband concealed in his nasal passage during enforcement action in the Cairns CBD.

Police speak with a man on Shields St in Cairns on Tuesday morning. Picture: Samuel Davis

Police have forced a man from South Australia to snort out suspected contraband concealed in his nasal passage during enforcement action in the Cairns CBD.

Lunch-time crowds passing on Shield St were confronted with an unusual sight on Tuesday during the arrest of the 31-year-old Pooraka man and a 30-year-old man for alleged possession of illicit drugs.

Six police officers attended the scene for more than 20 minutes before escorting the man from the city in a police vehicle. Picture: Samuel Davis

Police allege at about 10.30am the two men were stopped in the Cairns pedestrian mall before a search turned up the controlled medication Xanax.

Known as a potent, fast-acting tranquilliser, Xanax is classified as a Schedule 8 medicine in Queensland, which means it’s a restricted medication with a high risk of dependence and abuse.

During the search officers observed what was thought to be drugs stuffed into the Adelaide man’s nose.

The man was asked by police to snort suspected contraband out of his nose during the arrest. Picture: Sam Davis

The man was handed a rubber glove and told to snort the item into his hand.

The man complied with police direction, however, the item turned out to be a piece of crumpled up paper.

The two men were taken into custody and each charged with one count of supplying dangerous drugs and possessing dangerous drugs.

They are due to appear in the Cairns Magistrates Court on July 16.

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Originally published as Adelaide man arrested in unusual Cairns city drug bust