Australia seizes $760M of meth in largest ever bust
SYDNEY: Australia has seized more than Aus$ 1.0 billion ( US$ 760 million) of methamphetamine in its biggest ever bust of the highly-addictive drug, police said on Friday.
Commonly known as “ice”, the massive 1.2 tonne haul was inter boat, the Valkoista, which authorities believe came from China.
Australia has the world’s highest per capita consumption of crystal meth and the country has become an increasingly attractive destination for drug-smugglers, with street prices soaring.
Much of the ice hitting its streets comes from China and the Golden Triangle region where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet.
Eight men, all Australian, were charged with either importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, or possessing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, and face life in jail.
The seizure capped a six-month investigation with Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Leanne Close alleging the ringleaders had been taken out.
“It equates to probably about Aus$ 1.0 billion of border con- trolled drugs that are no longer going to be on the streets of Australia over the Christmas period,” she said.
“Police will allege in court these men intended to distribute the drugs along the east coast of Australia.”
The Valkoista arrived at the port of Geraldton in Western Australia in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The drugs were allegedly before tactical response officers swooped in, arresting three men inside.
Simultaneously, they boarded the boat and detained three crew members, with two others arrested at a hotel in Perth.
An Australian Crime Commission report in 2015 found that while US$80 bought one gram of ice in China, the estimated 270,000 users in Australia had to pay US$500 for the same amount.
The previous biggest meth bust was 903-kilograms, found in Melbourne earlier this year.
and India as key sources of the precursor chemicals needed to make ice, while China and Myanmar were notable manufacturers of the end product.