A Melbourne man has been charged after being allegedly linked to the attempted importation of 132 litres of liquid methamphetamine concealed in bottles of washing detergent.
The British national, 28, was expected to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today (6 February), charged with the attempted possession and trafficking of a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.
Australian Border Force (ABF) members detected anomalies in a consignment of pallets containing bottles labelled as ‘ultra concentrate detergent’ sparking a joint AFP and Victoria police investigation in January.
Forensic testing on the consignment allegedly established that 21 of the 319 bottles contained liquid methamphetamine.
The total volume of the methamphetamine was determined to be 132 litres, which has an estimated street value of $30 million.
Further forensic examination is ongoing to determine the purity of the seized drugs.
Police seized the bottles allegedly containing the illicit drugs and allowed the rest of the shipment to continue for delivery to a storage facility in Melbourne’s South East.
They then raided properties in Brighton, Bentleigh East and Dandenong, allegedly seizing phones, electronic devices and a small quantity of MDMA and methamphetamines.
The man was arrested and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and with trafficking a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.
The offences carry a potential maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Rick Briggs said methamphetamine was an extremely addictive illicit drug and caused immense psychological, financial and social harm to users and those around them.
“Criminals have little regard for how these harmful drugs impact people, their families, and the community,” Det Acting Supt Briggs said.
“This significant seizure demonstrates the importance of the collaboration between the AFP and our law enforcement partners to disrupt attempts by organised crime to import illicit drugs.
“Criminals will continue to find crafty ways to get harmful drugs into Australia, but that won’t stop the AFP from putting them behind bars.”
The investigation into the organised crime syndicate responsible for this importation is ongoing.
