Drugs haul worth $1.8b seized across ditch
The capability that this syndicate has demonstrated to us, in terms of volume in size, is enormous. These figures are staggering. John Watson, Detective Acting Chief Superintendent
More than A$1.6 billion ($1.8b) worth of ice (crystal meth) has been seized in two major operations, marking Australia’s biggest drug bust.
NSW Police and the border force uncovered a shipment of more than A$150m worth of cocaine and ice stashed in a vintage Bentley car this month.
The car reached Port Botany in a shipping container from Canada.
A large amount of meth was found hidden behind the headlights and cocaine in other parts of the car.
Two men, aged 20 and 23, were arrested in Rooty Hill in western Sydney on Thursday and charged with drug offences. A third, 25, was also charged after being pulled over in Ballina.
A separate investigation this year uncovered more than 748kg of meth, found hidden in marble slabs imported in sea cargo containers that had arrived in Port Botany.
That led to the arrest and charging of three men — aged 24, 26 and 34 — who remain before the courts.
NSW Police say Australian Border Force (ABF) officials were acting on a tip-off when they searched the containers
containing marble. They were on a ship that arrived from the United Arab Emirates.
More containers arrived via sea cargo at Port Botany last week, holding 1060kg of meth concealed in the same marble method.
The 1800kg ice haul has an estimated street value of more than A$1.6b.
Detective Acting Chief Superintendent John Watson said yesterday the operation was ongoing.
“At this stage no one has been charged in respect of this particular consignment, although they are being considered in relation to the broader investigation,” he said.
“The investigation has resulted in 1.8 tonnes of methamphetamine — the biggest in Australia’s history.
“To date, our investigation has been focusing onshore, but the AFP are now focusing their efforts overseas with us.”
Watson noted the factory used as the final destination point last week was dedicated to removing drugs from the consignments quickly.
“The capability that this syndicate has demonstrated to us, in terms of volume in size, is enormous. These figures are staggering,” he said.
The alleged offenders had international connections, which authorities were looking into.
“We don‘t know how long they have been operating, but it is certainly a line of inquiry that we are keen to understand,” he said.
“The Middle Eastern region is probably our focus, but I certainly wouldn’t restrict our investigation to just that region either.”