Cops’ shock find in juice bottles
Written by admin on September 17, 2024
Three men have been arrested after allegedly attempting to import $400m worth of meth hidden in a consignment of juice bottles in a joint operation with Canadian police.
The AFP launched an investigation into an alleged transnational crime syndicate after Canadian police identified 1.2 tonnes of liquid meth in a shipment from Brazil in May.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police replaced the meth with an “inert substance” before the shipment was allowed to continue onwards to Queensland via a container ship.
The AFP swooped after the shipment arrived in the Sunshine State, arresting three men at a property in Jimboomba and at a shopping centre in Brisbane’s south last week.
The men, aged between 30 and 43, have since been charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug.
If found guilty and convicted, the men face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. They faced Brisbane Magistrates Court last week and remain in custody on remand.
Testing by Canadian authorities revealed the liquid meth had a purity level of up to 89 per cent, though the AFP said it would also conduct its own testing of the drugs.
AFP Acting Commander Adrian Telfer said if converted, the drugs equated to an estimated street value of about $400,000 or equivalent to four million individual street deals.
“If converted to crystal meth and sold into the Australian community, this amount of liquid methamphetamine would have led to domestic violence, assaults and contributed to the road toll as well as lined the pockets or organised crime,” he said.
“Through this operation the AFP, working with our partners in Canada, has prevented a large amount of this illicit drug from reaching our communities and causing harm and put a sizeable dent in the wallets of organised crime.”
The seizure was also welcomed by Canadian authorities, with Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pacific Region Deputy Regional Commander Chief Superintendent Stephen Lee stating “transnational crime has no borders”.
