Man charged with importing 5kg of crystal meth

A 20-year-old Chinese national appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday (Tuesday, 19 July) charged with allegedly importing crystal methamphetamine (Ice) through the international air mail stream.

Taskforce Icarus officers from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Victoria Police and Australian Border Force (ABF) commenced a joint agency operation into these detections late last month (June 2016).

ABF officers at the Melbourne Gateway Facility identified five suspicious consignments which, upon examination, contained a combined weight of 5280 grams of Ice. Each consignment contained over one kilogram of Ice concealed within dried cuttlefish.

The total street value of the five consignments is estimated to be $5.28 million.

On Friday (15 July), officers from the AFP, Victoria Police and ABF arrested a man at a Burwood address and subsequently executed a search warrant at the man’s Brunswick East residence. Officers seized a 2012 Mercedes Benz coupe under confiscated assets legislation.

He was charged with:

• Five counts of importing a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs, namely methamphetamine, contrary to section 307.1(1) of Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
• Three counts of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs, namely methamphetamine, which was unlawfully imported, contrary to section 307.5(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
• One count of possessing a drug of dependence, namely methamphetamine, contrary to section 73 of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act (Vic).

The maximum penalty for these offences is life imprisonment.Task Force Icarus is a joint agency initiative that targets those who seek to use the international mail and air cargo systems for criminal activity.

Australia’s law enforcement agencies need the community’s ongoing assistance to minimise the harm caused by drugs, and urge anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or to submit at confidential crime report at www.crimestoppers.com.au.

Note: The estimated street value of this seizure has been calculated according to the national median drug price for the specific drug as listed in the latest Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Illicit Drug Data Report (URL). The final total is expressed as if the seizure would have been broken up at its current level of purity and sold at the end of the supply chain in individual street dosage units.

Media enquiries
AFP Media: (02) 6131 6333
Victoria Police Media: (03) 9247 5205
ABF Media: (02) 6264 2244

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