two Glenorchy men refused bail over $4.5m ice seizure by police

Two men from have been remanded in custody after being charged over the alleged importation of $4.5 million worth of the drug ice.

TWO men from Hobart’s northern suburbs have allegedly been busted with one of the largest seizures of the drug ice ever seen in Tasmania.

Police said 3kg of the drug — estimated to contain 30,000 individual deals and with a potential street value of $4.5m — was detected by Australian Border Force on Monday.

It had allegedly been sent from overseas and addressed to one of the men, before the drugs were removed from the consignment and arranged for delivery to the nominated address.

A joint operation between Tasmania Police, Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force was launched, leading to the arrests of the two men on Friday.

Tasmania Police’s Detective Acting Inspector Mathew Adams and the Australian Federal Police’s Detective Sergeant Aaron Hardcastle.

Craig Douglas Fisher, 58, of Glenorchy, has been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

Another Glenorchy man, 51-year-old Mark Anthony Chatters, has been charged with attempted possession of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

Both men appeared in an out-of-hours sitting of the Hobart Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

Legal Aid lawyer Irene Tiang applied for bail on behalf of both men, but it was refused by Justice of the Peace Jill Taylor and the men were remanded in custody to reappear in court on Monday.

Earlier, police revealed they had conducted several search warrants in the Glenorchy area on Friday over the alleged importation of the drugs.

Australian Federal Police Detective Sergeant Aaron Hardcastle said the importation charge carried a potential maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

“Sadly, the drug market in Australia remains strong,” he said.

“The ability of law enforcement agencies and our overseas counterparts to work in partnership to combat these crimes, and the insidious drug trade remains strong.

“This will never be stronger. And we will continue to work together to combat drug trafficking into our community.”

The seized drugs.

Tasmania Police Commander Tony Cerritelli said every street deal seized by police was one less deal off the streets to keep families, friends and the community safe.

“Police not only work hard to seize illicit substances, they also work to disrupt syndicates and networks responsible for the distribution of them,” he said.

“Tasmania Police’s involvement in this significant seizure involved drug investigation service, our crime command and other support units, resulting in one of the largest single seizures of methamphetamine in Tasmania.

“I’d like to congratulate all partners and all members involved in this excellent result.”

Anyone with any information about drug crime in the community is urged to report it anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au

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