WHITTLESEA: Police charge Donnybrook man
Three men have been arrested for their alleged roles in the importation of about 360kg of methamphetamine impregnated in mosaic tiles.
Two Sydney men, 39 and 56, were arrested on Thursday morning (July 3) at Holroyd and Liver-pool.
They have been charged with importing a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs. The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment. They were scheduled to appear at Parramatta Local Court last Friday (July 4).
A Melbourne man, 39, was charged with the same offence on May 12. He appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on May 14, and was formally refused bail. He will appear before the same court on October 29.
The AFP launched an investigation in Apri after the Australian Border Force intercepted an importation of mosaic tiles believed to have originated from the Middle East. About 360 boxes of tiles were found to be impregnated with methamphetamine.
Forensic testing established the consignment contained about 360kg of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $333 million.
The AFP removed the tiles containing the illicit drugs and undertook a controlled delivery of the consignment to a storage facility in Chullora, a suburb in Sydney’s southwest, on April 15.
The consignment was collected by a man, 56, who allegedly used an alias to co-ordinate the delivery. A second man, 39, also allegedly assisted with planning to store the illicit drugs at the storage facility.
The AFP will allege the men were aware the consignment contained illicit drugs and were to be paid up to $50,000 for their activities.
The consignment was then transported to a storage facility in Clayton South, on April 22. Further inquiries led investigators to identify a Melbourne man, 39 as being the alleged intended recipient of the illicit drugs.
During a search warrant of the man’s Donnybrook home on Ma 12, investigators seized a number of electronic devices which allegedly linked the man to the drug importation plot.
The Donnybrook man was charged with:
• One count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a unlawfully imported border controlled drug,
• Fail to comply with requirement of 3LA order, and
• Commit indictable offence while on bail.
AFP Acting Commander Peter Fogarty (pictured) said the result demonstrated the commitment of the AFP to combat transnational organ-ised crime and illicit drug trafficking.
“We regularly see elaborate or outside-the-box attempts to import harmful illicit drugs into Australia, but the AFP and our partners are ready and waiting to stop organised crime syndicates in their tracks,” A/Commander Fogarty said.
“Methamphetamine causes immense harm to users and their families and make our communities less safe,” A/Commander Fogarty said.